Form 8812, officially Schedule 8812 (Form 1040), is where you work out the child tax credit, the credit for other dependents and the refundable additional child tax credit. For 2025 returns the child tax credit is up to $2,200 per qualifying child under 17, the credit for other dependents is $500, and up to $1,700 per child can come back as a refund, as of October 2026.
If you're claiming a child or another dependent on your Form 1040, you attach this schedule. The headline change for 2025 isn't just the bigger credit: you now need a valid social security number yourself to claim the child tax credit at all. Everything here comes from the IRS Schedule 8812 for 2025 and its instructions.
The three credits on one schedule
| Credit | Who it's for | 2025 amount | Refundable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child tax credit (CTC) | Qualifying children under age 17 at the end of 2025 with a valid SSN | Up to $2,200 per child | No |
| Credit for other dependents (ODC) | Other dependents, including children 17 or older or without a valid SSN | $500 per dependent | No |
| Additional child tax credit (ACTC) | The unused part of the CTC | Up to $1,700 per child | Yes |
The age test is strict. The IRS's own example: a child who turned 17 on December 30, 2025 can't be used for the CTC or ACTC, even though they were 16 for almost the whole year. That child may still count for the $500 credit for other dependents.
The new SSN rule for 2025
From tax year 2025 you must have a valid SSN to claim the CTC or ACTC. On a joint return only one spouse needs a valid SSN; the other needs either an SSN or an ITIN issued on or before the due date of the return. A valid SSN here is one that's valid for employment and issued before the due date of your 2025 return, including extensions.
- Each qualifying child also needs a valid SSN. If a child has another type of taxpayer number instead, you may be able to claim the $500 ODC for them.
- For the ODC, you (and your spouse) need an SSN or ITIN, and each dependent needs an SSN, ITIN or ATIN, all issued by the return's due date.
- If a child was born and died in 2025 without an SSN, attach a birth certificate, death certificate or hospital records showing the child was born alive.
How Part I works
- Line 1: your adjusted gross income from Form 1040, line 11a, plus any excluded foreign or Puerto Rico income on line 2.
- Lines 4 and 5: the number of qualifying children with the required SSN, multiplied by $2,200.
- Lines 6 and 7: the number of other dependents, multiplied by $500.
- Line 9: the phase-out threshold, $400,000 married filing jointly or $200,000 for every other status.
- Lines 10 and 11: income above the threshold, rounded up to the next $1,000, multiplied by 5%. That's how much the credits shrink.
- Lines 13 and 14: the credit is limited to your tax, using Credit Limit Worksheet A. Line 14 goes on Form 1040, line 19.
So a married couple with income under $400,000 keeps the full amount. Above that, the excess is rounded up first: the form's own example is that an excess of $425 counts as $1,000, and $1,025 counts as $2,000. Then 5% of the rounded figure comes off the combined credits.
Part II: getting part of it refunded
If your tax was too low to use the full child tax credit, Part II-A works out how much comes back as the additional child tax credit. The refundable part is the smaller of the unused credit or $1,700 per qualifying child, and it's also capped by an earned income test: 15% of your earned income above $2,500. So a household whose only earned income is under $2,500 gets no refundable part at all, however many children it has, and every extra dollar earned above that line adds 15 cents of possible refund until the $1,700 per child cap or the unused credit is reached.
Families with three or more qualifying children, and bona fide residents of Puerto Rico, can use Part II-B, which lets withheld social security and Medicare taxes support a bigger refund. You can't claim the ACTC at all if you file Form 2555 to exclude foreign earned income.
Timing and traps
- Returns claiming the ACTC can't be refunded before mid-February, and the hold applies to the whole refund, not just the credit.
- If a claim is found to be reckless or in intentional disregard of the rules, you're barred from these credits for 2 years; for fraud, 10 years.
- If a past CTC, ACTC or ODC claim was denied or reduced for anything other than a maths error, you may need to attach Form 8862.
- An ACTC refund can't be counted as income for federal benefits such as SNAP, Medicaid or SSI, or as a resource for at least 12 months.
If someone prepares your return for a fee, they have their own due diligence checklist for these credits, Form 8867. And if a new child changes your tax picture mid-year, update your W-4 so less is withheld.
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The verdict
Check two things before you file: every child's age on December 31, 2025, and that you and each child have a valid SSN issued before your filing deadline. Get those right and Schedule 8812 is mostly arithmetic: $2,200 per child, $500 per other dependent, a 5% phase-out above $200,000 or $400,000, and up to $1,700 per child refundable.
Frequently asked questions
What is Form 8812 used for?
Schedule 8812 works out the child tax credit, the credit for other dependents and the refundable additional child tax credit.
How much is the child tax credit for 2025?
Up to $2,200 per qualifying child under 17, with up to $1,700 per child refundable as the additional child tax credit.
Do I need an SSN to claim the child tax credit?
Yes. From 2025 you need a valid SSN. On a joint return one spouse needs a valid SSN and the other an SSN or ITIN.
At what income does the child tax credit phase out?
Above $400,000 for married filing jointly and $200,000 for everyone else, reduced by 5% of the excess.
