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Child Tax Credit, Credit for Other Dependents, and Additional Child Tax Credit: Military Taxes (2025 IRS Guide)

This guide covers “Child Tax Credit, Credit for Other Dependents, and Additional Child Tax Credit” within military taxes. The following material presents the IRS treatment of this topic, including the qualifications, exceptions, and examples in the source section. Read the rules alongside the facts of your own situation before deciding what to report, deduct, or document.

Adapted from Publication 3 (2025), Armed Forces' Tax Guide, published by the Internal Revenue Service. This guide retains the source edition’s years, amounts, deadlines, and examples. It is guidance for that edition, not a statement that the same figures apply to every tax year.

Context for these rules

After you have figured your taxable income and tax liability, you can determine if you are entitled to any tax credits. This section discusses the child tax credit, additional child tax credit, credit for other dependents, earned income credit, and credit for excess social security tax withheld. For information on other credits, see your tax form instructions.

Child Tax Credit, Credit for Other Dependents, and Additional Child Tax Credit

The child tax credit (CTC) is a credit that may reduce your tax by as much as $2,200 for each of your qualifying children. See How Much Can I Claim as a CTC, later.

The additional child tax credit (ACTC) is a credit you may be able to take if you aren't able to claim the full amount of the CTC. The ACTC is discussed later.

The credit for other dependents (ODC) is a credit that may reduce your tax by as much as $500 for each of your qualifying children or other dependents who can’t be claimed for the CTC. The amount you may claim for your CTC is calculated together with the amount you may claim for your ODC on the Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents Worksheet in the instructions for your tax return. These credits are reported on the same line of your return. The ODC is discussed later.

Caution:

The ACTC is a credit you may be able to take if you aren't able to claim the full amount of the CTC. The CTC isn't the same as the credit for child and dependent care expenses. See Pub. 503 for information on the credit for child and dependent care expenses.

Tip:

Refunds for returns claiming the ACTC can't be issued before mid-February 2026. This delay applies to the entire refund, not just the portion associated with the ACTC. This delay does not apply if the return claims the CTC unless the return also claims the EIC.

Can I claim the CTC if I don't have a social security number (SSN) or an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN)?

If you or your spouse (if filing jointly) doesn’t have an SSN or ITIN issued on or before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions), you can't claim the CTC on either your original or an amended 2025 return, even if you later get an SSN. If an ITIN is applied for on or before the due date of a 2025 return (including extensions) and the IRS issues an ITIN as a result of the application, the IRS will consider the ITIN as issued on or before the due date of the return.

Is My Child a Qualifying Child?

Your child is a qualifying child for purposes of the CTC if your child meets all seven of the following conditions.

  1. Is your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild, niece, or nephew).

  2. Was under age 17 at the end of 2025.

  3. Didn't provide over half of the child’s own support for 2025.

  4. Lived with you for more than half of 2025 (but see Are there exceptions to the time lived with you requirement, later).

  5. Is claimed as a dependent on your return.

  6. Doesn't file a joint return for the year (or files it only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid).

  7. Was a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, or a U.S. resident alien. If the child was adopted, see Adopted child, later.

Are there exceptions to the time lived with you requirement?

Temporary absences by you or the other person for special circumstances, such as school, vacation, business, medical care, military service, or detention in a juvenile facility, count as time the person lived with you.

If the person meets all other requirements to be your qualifying child but was born or died in 2025, the person is considered to have lived with you for more than half of 2025 if your home was this person's home for more than half the time they were alive in 2025.

Any other person is considered to have lived with you for all of 2025 if the person was born or died in 2025 and your home was this person's home for the entire time they were alive in 2025.

There are also exceptions for kidnapped children, children lawfully placed with you for legal adoption by you in 2025, eligible foster children placed with you in 2025, and children of divorced or separated parents. For details, see Pub. 501.

What if my child is the qualifying child of more than one person?

A special rule applies if your qualifying child is the qualifying child of more than one person as only one person can actually treat the child as a qualifying child. For details, see Pub. 501.

Adopted child.

Your adopted child is always treated as your own child. An adopted child includes a child lawfully placed with you for legal adoption. If you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. national and your adopted child lived with you as a member of your household all year, that child meets condition 7.

How Much Can I Claim as a CTC?

The maximum amount you can claim for the credit is $2,200 for each qualifying child under age 17 at the end of 2025, who has an SSN that is valid for employment and issued before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions). If your child was issued an SSN that wasn't valid for employment and became eligible for a card without the legend “Not valid for employment” by the due date of your return (including extensions), you may claim the CTC on an original or amended return for that tax year even if your child’s card wasn't updated by the due date of your return.

Modified AGI.

For purposes of the CTC and ACTC, your modified AGI is the amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 11a, plus the following amounts that may apply to you.

  • Any amount excluded from income because of the exclusion of income from Puerto Rico.

  • Any amount on line 45 and line 50 of Form 2555.

  • Any amount on line 15 of Form 4563, Exclusion of Income for Bona Fide Residents of American Samoa.

If you don't have any of the above, your modified AGI is the same as your AGI.

Claiming the Credit

To claim the CTC and/or ACTC, you must file Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR. For each qualifying child, you must check the “Child tax credit” box on line 7 of the Dependents section on page 1 of Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR and complete Schedule 8812 (Form 1040). If you meet the residency requirements to claim the ACTC, you will claim the ACTC on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 28. Otherwise, you will claim the CTC on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 19. For more information on these credits, see the Instructions for Form 1040 or the Instructions for Form 1040-NR, and the Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040).

Form 8862, who must file.

You must file Form 8862 to claim the CTC, ACTC, or ODC if your ACTC or ODC for a year after 2015 was denied or reduced for any reason other than a math or clerical error. Attach a completed Form 8862 to your 2025 return unless an exception applies. See Form 8862, Information To Claim Certain Credits After Disallowance, and its instructions for more information, including whether an exception applies.

Caution:

If you take the CTC, ACTC, or ODC even though you aren't eligible and it is determined that your error is due to reckless or intentional disregard of the rules for these credits, you won't be allowed to take the CTC, ACTC, or ODC for 2 years even if you are otherwise eligible to do so. If you fraudulently take the CTC, ACTC, or ODC, you won't be allowed to take the CTC, ACTC, or ODC for 10 years. See the Instructions for Form 8862 for more information. You may also have to pay penalties.

ODC

This credit is a nonrefundable credit of up to $500 for each eligible dependent who can't be claimed for the CTC or ACTC. The CTC, ACTC, and ODC are figured using Schedule 8812 (Form 1040).

To claim the credit, you must file Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR. For each qualifying child, you must check the “Credit for other dependents” box on line 7 of the Dependents section on page 1 of Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR. For more information on the ODC, see the Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040).

Form 8862, who must file.

You must file Form 8862 to claim the CTC, ACTC, or ODC if your CTC, ACTC, or ODC for a year after 2015 was denied or reduced for any reason other than a math or clerical error. Attach a completed Form 8862 to your 2025 return to claim the CTC, ACTC, or ODC unless an exception applies. See Form 8862 and its instructions for more information, including whether an exception applies.

Caution:

If you take the CTC, ACTC, or ODC even though you aren't eligible and it is determined that your error is due to reckless or intentional disregard of the rules for these credits, you won't be allowed to take the ODC for 2 years even if you are otherwise eligible to do so. If you fraudulently take the CTC, ACTC, or ODC, you won't be allowed to take the CTC, ACTC, or ODC for 10 years. See the Instructions for Form 8862 for more information. You may also have to pay penalties.

Using the guidance

Keep the documents that establish the dates, amounts, and circumstances described above. References to other chapters, forms, worksheets, or earlier and later sections refer to the linked IRS publication. Check the full publication and its updates before relying on a rule for a different tax year or a situation not addressed here.

Sources and further reading

The cited U.S. government text is in the public domain. Source accessed October 28, 2026. Fynoptic has organized this material for educational use and is independent of, and not endorsed by, the IRS.

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