How Much Do You Get Back for Dependents on Taxes?

Claiming dependents can significantly reduce your tax liability through various credits and deductions. This guide outlines the benefits for the 2024 tax year, which is the return you file in 2025.

Defining a Qualifying Dependent

To claim any tax benefit, a person must meet the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) criteria for being a dependent. The IRS defines two categories: a qualifying child and a qualifying relative.

To be a qualifying child, an individual must meet five tests. The relationship test requires the child to be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, or a descendant of any of them. The age test requires the child to be under 19, under 24 if a full-time student, or any age if permanently disabled. For the residency test, the child must have lived with you for more than half the year. The support test stipulates the child cannot have provided more than half of their own support, and the joint return test states the child cannot file a joint return with a spouse unless it is only to claim a refund.

The second category, a qualifying relative, is for individuals who do not meet the qualifying child tests. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. The member of household or relationship test requires the person to either live with you all year or be related to you in a way specified by the IRS, such as a parent or grandparent, who do not have to live with you. For the 2024 tax year, the dependent’s gross income must be less than $5,050, and you must provide more than half of their total support for the year.

The Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents

The Child Tax Credit (CTC) is a primary financial benefit for having dependents. For the 2024 tax year, the CTC is worth up to $2,000 for each qualifying child under age 17. A portion of this credit is refundable, meaning you can receive it as a refund even if you owe no income tax.

The refundable portion, called the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), is worth up to $1,700 per child for 2024. To claim the ACTC, you need at least $2,500 in earned income. The credit is calculated as 15% of your earned income above $2,500, up to the $1,700 maximum.

Both the CTC and ACTC are subject to income limitations. The credit begins to phase out for taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for those married filing jointly and over $200,000 for all other filing statuses. The credit is reduced by $50 for each $1,000 of income that exceeds these thresholds.

Dependents who do not qualify for the CTC may be eligible for the Credit for Other Dependents (ODC). For 2024, the ODC is a nonrefundable credit of up to $500 per dependent. This means it can reduce your tax liability to zero, but you cannot get any of it back as a refund. The income phase-out rules for the ODC are the same as those for the CTC.

Credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses

Taxpayers can also claim the Credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses to help offset care costs that allow them to work or look for work. A qualifying person for this credit is a dependent child under 13, or a spouse or other dependent who is incapable of self-care and lived with you for more than half the year.

For 2024, the credit is calculated on up to $3,000 of work-related expenses for one qualifying person or $6,000 for two or more. These expenses cannot exceed the earned income of the lower-earning spouse. The credit amount is a percentage of these expenses, from 20% to 35%, based on your adjusted gross income (AGI). Taxpayers with an AGI of $15,000 or less get the 35% rate, which decreases as income rises to a permanent 20% for AGI above $43,000. This results in a maximum credit of $1,050 for one person ($2,100 for two or more) and a minimum of $600 ($1,200 for two or more).

Additional Tax Benefits Influenced by Dependents

Having a dependent can qualify you for the Head of Household filing status. To qualify, you must be unmarried, pay more than half the costs of keeping up a home, and have a qualifying dependent live with you for more than half the year. This status provides a larger standard deduction ($21,900 for 2024) and better tax brackets compared to the Single status ($14,600 for 2024).

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is another benefit that increases substantially for taxpayers with qualifying children. For 2024, the maximum EITC is $632 with no children, but it increases to $4,213 for one child, $6,960 for two children, and $7,830 for three or more children.

Education credits, like the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) and Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC), are for expenses paid for an eligible student, who is often the taxpayer’s dependent. A student cannot claim these credits if they are claimed as a dependent on another return. The AOTC can be worth up to $2,500 per eligible student for the first four years of higher education.

How to Claim Dependents on Your Tax Return

You claim dependents and their associated tax benefits directly on your annual tax return, Form 1040. In the “Dependents” section, you must list each person’s full name, Social Security Number (SSN) or other taxpayer identification number, and their relationship to you.

On Form 1040, you must also indicate which credit each dependent qualifies for. There are specific checkboxes next to each dependent’s information to mark if they qualify for the Child Tax Credit or the Credit for Other Dependents.

Claiming specific credits requires attaching additional forms or schedules to your Form 1040. To claim the Child Tax Credit and the Credit for Other Dependents, you must complete and attach Schedule 8812. If you are claiming the Credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses, you must file Form 2441. Those eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit with a qualifying child must file Schedule EIC.