Our daughter is 17 - is this the last year we can claim her and get the Child Tax Credit?

You can still claim your daughter as a dependent even after she turns 18, but the Child Tax Credit rules are different from dependency rules. For the Child Tax Credit, a child must be under 17 at the end of the tax year. So 2024 (the return you'll file in 2025) would indeed be the last year you can claim the Child Tax Credit for your 17-year-old. However, you can still claim her as a dependent even after she turns 18 if she meets certain tests: she must be a full-time student under age 24, live with you for more than half the year (temporary absences for education count as living with you), and you must provide more than half of her support. This would allow you to claim her under the "qualifying child" rules. Even without the Child Tax Credit, keeping her as a dependent will still help reduce your taxable income through the dependent exemption, which will give you some tax benefit.

I went through this exact situation last year with my son! Definitely check out https://taxr.ai - their system analyzed our family situation and found several educational credits we qualified for when our son started community college that our regular tax guy missed. The tool walks you through all the questions about dependency status and education expenses - super helpful for figuring out exactly what credits you qualify for once your kid ages out of the Child Tax Credit. It even explains what documentation you need for each credit.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried https://taxr.ai after posting my question here, and it was actually amazing for my situation! I have two kids in college and it walked me through every possible education credit and deduction. The dependency questions were super thorough and it explained exactly why my 19-year-old still qualified as my dependent even though she works part-time. It found that I qualified for both the American Opportunity Credit for my freshman and a partial Lifetime Learning Credit for my older one. The analysis showed I was getting about $3,800 more than I would have without understanding all these education credits. Definitely helped offset the loss of the Child Tax Credit!

Something nobody mentioned yet - if your daughter starts college and you're struggling with financial aid questions or need to resolve any issues with the IRS about your education credits, I highly recommend using https://claimyr.com to actually get through to a human at the IRS. I spent WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS about an education credit issue last year when they rejected my return. Claimyr got me connected with an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes when I'd been trying for days on my own. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent helped me understand exactly how to document my daughter's college expenses properly and resubmit my return with the right forms. Saved me thousands in education credits I would have lost otherwise.

Alright, I need to apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr. After posting my doubtful comment, I was desperate enough to try it because I had a complex education credit issue that needed resolution before filing this year. It actually worked exactly as described. I got through to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I'd been trying on my own for weeks. The agent walked me through how to properly document my daughter's tuition and expenses for the American Opportunity Credit. Turns out I had been filling out Form 8863 incorrectly for years and leaving money on the table. The IRS agent was surprisingly helpful and saved me over $1,500 on my taxes. I'm still shocked this service actually delivered what it promised.

Don't forget to also look into the Earned Income Credit once your daughter ages out of the Child Tax Credit. With your income level, you might qualify for a partial EIC with one qualifying child (your 15-year-old) which can help offset some of the loss. Also, when your daughter goes to college, look into the American Opportunity Credit (up to $2,500) or the Lifetime Learning Credit. These can be HUGE for college students and often pay more than the Child Tax Credit did!

Adjust your W-4 withholdings at work NOW to prepare for this change! My wife and I got hit with a huge shock when we couldn't claim our son anymore. Our refund dropped by almost $3800 and we weren't ready for it. Instead of getting a smaller refund, you could adjust your withholding to have less taken out of each paycheck throughout the year. This gives you more money with each check instead of waiting for a big refund. Just fill out a new W-4 with your employer.

I went through this exact situation two years ago with my oldest! You're right that 2024 will be the last year for the Child Tax Credit since she'll be 17 at the end of the year. But don't panic - there are still significant tax benefits available. If your daughter goes to college and meets the dependency requirements (full-time student under 24, lives with you more than half the year, you provide more than half her support), you can still claim her as a dependent. The American Opportunity Credit alone can be worth up to $2,500 per year for the first four years of college - that's actually MORE than the Child Tax Credit! Also, with your income level around $76k combined, you should definitely look into the Earned Income Credit with your younger child. And once you have college expenses, those education credits can really add up. The key is planning ahead - start researching what documentation you'll need for education credits and consider adjusting your withholding so you're not counting on that big refund. The financial impact might not be as bad as you think once you factor in all the education benefits available.