During the COVID pandemic, the child tax credit was expanded with payments made monthly. It’s back to pre-pandemic levels, however, but, if you have children under the age of 17, you could be eligible for the credit that will reduce how much you owe in taxes.

For 2023 tax year, the maximum tax credit available per child is $2,000 for each child under 17 under Dec. 31, 2023, CNET reported. If you are eligible, it could reduce how much you owe in taxes but, as a nonrefundable credit, it won’t provide you with a refund.

The CTC can be claimed for each qualifying child who has a Social Security number. To be qualifying child, the dependent generally must:

• Be under age 17 at the end of the year
• Be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, or a descendant of one of these (for example, a grandchild, niece or nephew)
• Provide no more than half of their own financial support during the year
• Have lived with you for more than half the year
• Be properly claimed as your dependent on your tax return
• Not file a joint return with their spouse for the tax year or file it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid
• Have been a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or U.S. resident alien

Also, the filers annual income cannot be more than $200,000 or $400,000 if filing a joint return. If your income is higher than those levels, the amount of a child tax credit will decrease by $50 for every $1,000 above those limits.