The child tax credit is a credit that may reduce your tax by as much as $1,000 for each of your qualifying children.

The additional child tax credit is a credit you may be able to take if you are not able to claim the full amount of the child tax credit.

A qualifying child for this credit is someone who meets the following criteria:

• Was under age 17 at the end of 2007
• Relationship is your son, daughter, adopted child, grandchild, stepchild or eligible foster child, your sibling, stepsibling or their descendant
• Is a U.S. citizen or resident alien
• Has lived with you for more than one-half the year
• Did not provide over one-half of their total support.

The credit is limited if your modified adjusted gross income is above a certain amount. The amount at which this phase-out begins varies depending on your filing status:

	• Married Filing Jointly	$110,000
	• Married Filing Separately	$55,000
	• All others	$75,000

In addition, the Child Tax Credit is generally limited by the amount of the income tax you owe as well as any alternative minimum tax you owe.

If the amount of your Child Tax Credit is greater than the amount of income tax you owe, you may be able to claim some or all of the difference as an “additional” Child Tax Credit. The additional Child Tax Credit may give you a refund even if you do not owe any tax. For 2007, the total amount of the Child Tax Credit and any additional Child Tax Credit cannot exceed the maximum of $1,000 for each qualifying child.