2026 Child Tax Credit Phaseout Calculator
Count qualifying children, apply the $50-per-$1,000 MAGI staircase, and separate the nonrefundable Child Tax Credit from a planning estimate of the Additional Child Tax Credit.
Walk the family credit down one income step at a time
The phaseout uses $1,000 blocks or fractions; it is not a smooth percentage.
Nonrefundable CTC used plus the simplified ACTC estimate.
MAGI does not exceed the selected threshold.
Count only children who qualify for the 2026 Child Tax Credit
The maximum Child Tax Credit for 2026 is $2,200 for each qualifying child. A child must be under age 17 at the end of the tax year, be claimed as a dependent, meet the relationship, residency and support tests, and be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or U.S. resident alien. The child must also have the required Social Security number issued by the applicable filing deadline. Entering a number in this calculator does not establish those facts.
The relationship test includes a son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, sibling, stepsibling, half sibling or a descendant of one of those relatives. The child generally must live with the taxpayer for more than half the year, with special rules for temporary absences, birth, death, kidnapped children and certain divorced or separated parents. The child cannot provide more than half of their own support and generally cannot file a joint return except solely to claim a refund of withheld or estimated tax.
A dependent who is age 17 or older may fit the Credit for Other Dependents rather than CTC. That credit uses a different maximum and is not included here. Likewise, the Child and Dependent Care Credit is based on work-related care expenses and is a separate calculation. One child can potentially support more than one type of family credit when every rule is met, but the credits are not interchangeable.
The row above is intentionally visual: each token represents a $2,200 starting amount before household income and tax capacity are considered. Preserve a separate eligibility record for every child.
Apply the MAGI phaseout as a staircase, not a percentage
The full-credit modified adjusted gross income threshold is $400,000 for married couples filing jointly and $200,000 for every other filing status. Above that point, the credit is reduced by $50 for each $1,000, or fraction of $1,000, of excess MAGI. Rounding the excess down understates the reduction. For example, $1 of excess creates one $50 step, and $1,001 of excess creates two steps.
Consider a joint return with two qualifying children and MAGI of $425,500. The family maximum is $4,400. Excess MAGI is $25,500, which occupies 26 phaseout blocks. The reduction is $1,300, leaving $3,100 before the credit-limit and refundability calculations. A smooth 5% or 50-per-full-thousand estimate would give the wrong answer.
Modified AGI for Schedule 8812 can require adding back specified foreign earned income, housing or territorial exclusions. It is not taxable income and should not be replaced by gross salary. The threshold does not rise with the number of children. More children create a larger starting credit, which means more $50 steps are needed to eliminate it, but the first step still begins immediately above the same filing-status threshold.
| Rule | Amount | Role in the estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum CTC | $2,200 per qualifying child | Creates the family maximum before income reduction. |
| Full-credit MAGI threshold | $400,000 joint; $200,000 otherwise | Starts the income staircase. |
| Phaseout step | $50 per $1,000 or fraction | Reduces the family maximum. |
| ACTC per-child ceiling | $1,700 | Caps the refundable part associated with each qualifying child. |
| Earned-income formula | 15% above $2,500 | Provides the simplified refundable ceiling used here. |
Separate nonrefundable CTC from the Additional Child Tax Credit
The post-phaseout credit first encounters the return’s nonrefundable credit limit. Enter the income tax available at the Schedule 8812 point, after taking account of credits that come earlier in the ordering. This is not the amount withheld from paychecks and not an expected balance due. The calculator uses the smaller of that tax capacity or the post-phaseout credit as nonrefundable CTC used.
Some unused CTC may become refundable Additional Child Tax Credit. The simplified earned-income method is 15% of earned income above $2,500, limited by the unused post-phaseout credit and the 2026 ceiling of $1,700 per qualifying child. A family with $30,000 of earned income has a formula amount of $4,125 before the per-child and unused-credit limits. The calculator applies all three caps.
Families with three or more qualifying children may have an alternative ACTC calculation based on Social Security taxes and earned income credit, and bona fide residents of Puerto Rico use specialized rules. Those branches require facts not requested here. The result therefore labels ACTC as simplified and may be conservative when the three-child alternative method is larger. The filed Schedule 8812 controls.
A taxpayer who files Form 2555 cannot claim ACTC under the current Schedule 8812 mechanics. Selecting that status sets the refundable estimate to zero while preserving the nonrefundable CTC calculation. Social Security number requirements can also remove the credit entirely, so the eligibility selector is a true gate rather than a footnote.
Refunds also reflect withholding, estimated payments, earned income credit, other refundable credits and taxes.
Build a filing file that can support each child and each input
Keep Social Security cards or other permitted SSN verification, birth or placement records, school or medical records showing address, custody documents and support records when relevant. The IRS may request proof of relationship and residency. A tax return that claims a qualifying child should tell the same story as school, childcare, lease and medical records.
Record how MAGI was derived, especially when Form 2555 or territorial exclusions exist. Save the Schedule 8812 credit-limit worksheet that produced the tax-capacity input. If earned income includes self-employment, preserve the Schedule C and Schedule SE calculations because omitting legitimate business expenses can improperly increase refundable credits.
Phaseout planning is useful around year-end because one additional dollar can cross a $1,000 boundary and remove another $50 of credit. That does not mean income should be delayed without a valid tax rule. It means projections should use precise MAGI rather than broad salary estimates. Retirement contributions, self-employed deductions and other adjustments affect MAGI only when legally available and correctly reported.
This calculator uses published 2026 statutory and inflation-adjusted amounts, while the latest finalized Schedule 8812 instructions available during development describe the filing mechanics. Draft or later 2026 forms may refine line references and rounding. Recheck the current instructions before filing a 2026 return in 2027.
Frequently asked questions
At what income does the 2026 Child Tax Credit completely disappear?
There is no single cutoff for every family because the starting credit depends on the number of qualifying children. The reduction begins above $400,000 on a joint return or $200,000 otherwise and removes $50 per $1,000 block or fraction until the family maximum reaches zero.
Why does $1 of income above the threshold reduce the credit by $50?
The law counts each $1,000 of excess MAGI or fraction of $1,000. Any positive excess occupies the first block. That staircase convention is why the calculator uses a ceiling function rather than multiplying excess income by 5%.
Is the full $2,200 per child refundable?
No. CTC is first limited by tax liability. The refundable ACTC has separate rules and a 2026 ceiling of $1,700 per qualifying child. The simplified estimate also applies 15% of earned income above $2,500 and cannot exceed unused post-phaseout credit.
Can I enter a 17-year-old child?
Not for this CTC count. A qualifying child must be under age 17 at year-end. An older dependent may qualify for the Credit for Other Dependents, which is outside this calculator.
Why might tax software show a different ACTC amount?
Tax software completes the full Schedule 8812, including the special alternative calculation for some families with three or more children, other credit ordering, Puerto Rico rules and form rounding. This planner uses the basic earned-income method and explicitly identifies that limitation.