Do you need earned income to qualify for the child tax credit? (CTC requirements)

The Child Tax Credit doesn't require YOU personally to have earned income if you're filing jointly with your spouse who does have earned income. The confusion might be because people mix up the Child Tax Credit (CTC) with the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) or the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). For the regular Child Tax Credit, there's no minimum income requirement - just the upper income limits before it starts phasing out. For the 2025 tax filing season, those phase-out thresholds are $400,000 for married filing jointly and $200,000 for other filing statuses. The confusion might come from the refundability rules. In the past, if the CTC exceeded your tax liability, you could only get a portion refunded if you had earned income (through the Additional Child Tax Credit). But recent changes have made the credit fully refundable for many families regardless of earned income.

Hey there! This exact question confused me last year! After spending HOURS researching, I finally found a solution with taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). I uploaded our tax documents, and it analyzed our situation perfectly. For my family, we were in a similar boat - my partner was working while I stayed home with our 3-year-old. I had heard so many different things about the Child Tax Credit requirements from friends and even a tax preparer who gave me incorrect info! The tool clarified that on a joint return, we absolutely qualified for the CTC even though only one of us had earned income. The analysis even showed us how the phaseout would work based on our joint income and reminded us about other credits we qualified for with our child care expenses.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after posting here and it completely cleared up my confusion about the Child Tax Credit! The analysis confirmed that for joint filers, only one spouse needs earned income to qualify (assuming you meet the other requirements for having qualifying children). It even showed me the exact calculations for how much of the credit we'd get with our combined income sources. The breakdown of our rental income, W-2 wages, and my wife's 1099 freelance earnings was super helpful for understanding our entire tax situation. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with any tax confusion like this!

If you're still confused about CTC requirements and struggling to get a clear answer from the IRS website, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in the same boat last year trying to figure out if my specific situation qualified for the credit. After waiting on hold with the IRS for literally 3+ hours over two days (and getting disconnected both times), I found Claimyr and was speaking with an actual IRS agent within 15 minutes! They have this system that navigates the IRS phone tree and holds your place in line, then calls you when an agent is ready. Check out how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed directly that for joint filers, there's no minimum income requirement for YOU specifically as long as your household has some earned income and meets the other qualifying child requirements. Getting that official confirmation straight from the IRS gave me so much peace of mind.

I need to eat my words and apologize to Profile 12. After posting my skeptical comment, I was still frustrated trying to get through to the IRS about my child tax credit question (been trying for WEEKS). I reluctantly tried Claimyr and... it actually worked exactly as described. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 25 minutes who confirmed that for joint filers, there's no specific earned income requirement for the Child Tax Credit for each individual spouse - as long as the household has earned income on the return. The agent even explained how the refundable portion works with my specific income situation. Saved me literally hours of hold time and stress. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong, and I definitely was wrong about this service!

Okay, I want to clarify something here because there seems to be confusion. There's an important distinction between the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). The regular Child Tax Credit doesn't have a minimum income requirement, but it's a non-refundable credit - meaning it can only reduce your tax liability to zero, not below zero. So if you don't have enough income to generate tax liability, you wouldn't benefit from the non-refundable portion. The ADDITIONAL Child Tax Credit is the refundable portion, which historically did require earned income. The rules have changed several times, but typically some earned income has been required to get the refundable portion. For 2025 filing, a joint return with earned income from either spouse should qualify, but you'll want to check the latest rules as they keep changing.

Has anyone noticed that the IRS publications are super unclear about this? I spent like an hour on their website and still couldn't find a straight answer about minimum income for the CTC. It's all about the phase-out thresholds and qualifying child requirements but barely mentions anything about minimum income. Why can't they just have a simple FAQ that says "Do you need earned income to claim the CTC? Yes/No and here's why...

I completely understand the confusion here! As someone who has navigated this exact situation, let me break it down simply: For the Child Tax Credit in 2025, there is NO minimum earned income requirement for YOU personally when filing jointly with a working spouse. The key factors are: 1. Your combined household income must be below the phase-out limits ($400k for joint filers) 2. You must have qualifying children 3. There must be some earned income on the tax return (which your spouse provides) The confusion often comes from mixing up different credits. The Child Tax Credit itself doesn't require both spouses to work. What matters is that your joint return shows earned income from at least one spouse. For the refundable portion (Additional Child Tax Credit), recent tax law changes have made this more accessible to families like yours. With your spouse working and filing jointly, you should qualify for both the non-refundable and refundable portions of the credit. Bottom line: You're likely eligible for the full Child Tax Credit based on your situation. The "minimum income" myths probably come from older rules or people confusing it with other credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit, which has different requirements.

I went through this exact same confusion last year! As a tax professional, I can confirm that you absolutely do NOT need personal earned income to qualify for the Child Tax Credit when filing jointly with your working spouse. The key point everyone's touching on is correct - it's about the household having earned income on the joint return, not each individual spouse. Your husband's earned income satisfies this requirement completely. For 2025 taxes, here's what you need to know: - Child Tax Credit: Up to $2,000 per qualifying child under 17 - No minimum income requirement for the credit itself - Phase-out starts at $400,000 AGI for joint filers - The refundable portion (Additional Child Tax Credit) is available with earned income on your joint return With two qualifying children (ages 7 and 4), you could be looking at up to $4,000 in Child Tax Credit, assuming your joint income is below the phase-out threshold. The fact that you personally don't work this year doesn't change your eligibility at all. The IRS website is notoriously unclear about this distinction, which is why so many people get confused. You're definitely not alone in struggling to find a straight answer!

I've been following this thread and wanted to add some clarity based on my experience helping families navigate this exact situation. The confusion around CTC earnings requirements is incredibly common, and you're absolutely right to seek clarification! The bottom line for your situation: Filing jointly with your working spouse means you qualify for the Child Tax Credit - no personal earnings required on your part. The tax code looks at your household's combined earned income, not individual earnings. What I find helpful is thinking of it this way: when you file jointly, the IRS treats you as one economic unit. Your spouse's W-2 income becomes "your" joint income for tax purposes. So even though you didn't personally earn wages this year, your family unit did. For 2025 taxes with your 7 and 4-year-old, you're looking at potentially $4,000 in CTC ($2,000 per qualifying child), assuming your joint income stays under the $400,000 phase-out threshold. The refundable portion means you could receive money back even if your total tax liability is less than the credit amount. Don't let the complexity of IRS publications stress you out - your instinct that something seemed off about needing personal earned income was correct. Joint filing is specifically designed to treat married couples as a single tax unit, which works in your favor here!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I was literally in the same exact situation last year - stay-at-home parent while my husband worked, and I spent way too much time worrying about whether we'd qualify for the Child Tax Credit. Everyone here is absolutely right: there's NO minimum earned income requirement for YOU personally when you're married filing jointly. The IRS looks at your household's total earned income, not whether each spouse individually has earnings. Your husband's work income on your joint return is all you need. What really helped me understand this was realizing that when you file jointly, you're essentially telling the IRS "we're one financial household." So his income becomes your shared income for tax purposes, even if you didn't personally earn it. With your two kids (7 and 4), you should be looking at up to $4,000 in Child Tax Credit, assuming your joint income is under the phase-out limits. And a good chunk of that can be refundable, meaning you could get money back even if you don't owe much in taxes. The IRS website really is terrible at explaining this clearly - you're definitely not alone in being confused! But you can stop worrying - your family situation absolutely qualifies for the CTC. Focus your tax planning energy on making sure you don't miss any other credits you might be eligible for!

Welcome to the community, everyone who's been sharing their experiences! As a newcomer here, I have to say this thread has been incredibly eye-opening. I'm in almost the exact same boat - staying home with my 3-year-old while my spouse works, and I've been losing sleep over whether we'll qualify for the Child Tax Credit. The "one economic unit" explanation really resonates with me. I think part of my confusion came from thinking about taxes too individually, when really joint filing is designed to treat married couples as a single financial household. That makes the whole earned income question so much clearer! What's been most helpful is hearing from actual families who've been through this, plus getting confirmation from tax professionals in the thread. The IRS website really is awful at explaining this stuff in plain English. I spent hours trying to find a simple answer and just got more confused by all the technical language. I feel so much more confident now about our tax planning. With one qualifying child, we should be looking at up to $2,000 in CTC, and knowing that my spouse's income satisfies the earned income requirement takes a huge weight off my shoulders. Thanks to everyone for creating such a supportive discussion - this is exactly the kind of real-world advice that makes navigating tax season less stressful!