The Child Tax Credit (CTC) is a federal credit that helps families afford the everyday expenses of raising a child.

To help families during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government made changes to the CTC for tax year 2021.

Families were eligible to get half of their CTC as advance monthly payments from July to December 2021 and the other half as a refund in 2022.

Families claiming CTC for 2021 will receive up to:

• $3,600 per qualifying child under 6
• $3,000 per qualifying child between the ages of 6 and 17

Eligibility

You are eligible for payments even if you are incarcerated, experiencing homelessness, or have no income.

Important:

• Your child must have a Social Security number (SSN).
• You can have an SSN or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).

Claiming the Credit

To get payments, you need to file a tax return.

If you received advance payments in 2021, you must file taxes in 2022 to get your remaining half of the CTC. You will not receive the remaining half automatically. You will need IRS Letter 6419 (2021 Advance CTC), which the IRS sent you, when you file taxes in 2022.

If you did not receive advance payments in 2021, you can claim your complete CTC when you file taxes in 2022.

You can use NYC Free Tax Prep to file your taxes for free.

Learn more about the Child Tax Credit (CTC).

Learn more about NYC Free Tax Prep.

Families with children or dependent adults can claim federal, State, and City credits to help them pay for care. NYC Free Tax Prep can guide you on how to claim the credits. Individuals with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) are eligible to claim the credits.

Federal Child and Dependent Care Credit

The federal Child and Dependent Care Credit helps families pay for child care for children under age 13 or for care of dependent adults.

Due to a change to the federal credit, working families could get back up to $4,000 in care expenses for one qualifying person and up to $8,000 for two or more qualifying people.

Learn about the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit.

New York State Child and Dependent Care Credit

Like the federal credit, the New York State credit helps families pay for child care for children under age 13 or for care of dependent adults. However, eligibility for the State credit is based on a different calculation than for the federal credit.

Learn more about the State Child and Dependent Care Credit.

NYC Child Care Tax Credit

The NYC Child Care Tax Credit helps families with household incomes of $30,000 or less pay for child care for children 3 and under. The NYC Child Care Tax Credit is administered by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

Learn more about the NYC Child Care Tax Credit.