How to Qualify for Child Tax Credit

Raising children can be expensive for working families. That's why the federal government enacted the Child Tax Credit in which eligible families can receive a credit of up to $1,000 per child under the age of 17.

A qualifying family will subtract the credit amount from the owed taxes for the year. If a couple has two eligible children, they can deduct $2,000 from the amount of taxes they would owe ($1,000 per child).

There is a part of the Child Tax Credit that allows a family to receive a refund if the credit amount exceeds that amount a family owes. This is known as the Additional Child Tax Credit. This allows working families to take advantage of the tax credit even if their incomes are low and they don't owe any federal taxes.

For the 2014 tax year, working families will receive a tax refund equivalent to 15% of their earning greater than $3,000, with a maximum of $1,000 per child. This factor helps low income families take advantage of the benefits that are usually available to higher income families.