Tracy’s Tax Tips: Child Tax Credit

If you have kids, make sure you get every penny you can for raising them out of Uncle Sam come tax day.

FOX Business Network’s Tracy Byrnes has another of her annual tax tips:

Maybe it takes a village to raise a child, but it certainly takes money. ?Now, parents can get a little bit of help from the IRS. ?I’m Tracy Byrnes with the FOX Business Network, here with Tracy’s Tax Tips.

Uncle Sam gets how expensive it is to raise kids. ?So, at least for the next five years thanks to the fiscal cliff deal, some parents will be able to claim the child tax credit and deduct up to $1,000 for each child younger than 17. ?To get the credit, the child first must be claimed as a dependent and must meet special criteria. ?For example, the kid must be related, be a U.S. citizen and live with the taxpayer for more than half the year.

And, no surprise, this credit is limited. ?The child tax credit starts to be reduced when income hits $75,000 for single people and $110,000 for married couple filing jointly. ?Check out the IRS’s Publication 972 for more info, and you’ll need Form 8812 to calculate the credit to get your money back.