History

• In 1997, Congress passed the Tax Relief Act, which included the child tax credit. The original credit, for the 1998 tax year, was $400, which could count against your taxes if you had one or two kids, but which was refundable if you had three or more. The amount of the tax credit gradually increased, and in 2010 it was $1,000 per child.
  
  

Age of Eligible Children

• Any children in your household under the age of 17 by the end of that tax year are eligible for the child tax credit. This means that on December 31 of the year, the child must still be 16. In the year they turn 17, you can no longer take the credit for them.
  
  

Residency Status

• In almost all cases, the child has to have lived with you for at least half of the tax year. This is a particularly important rule for custodial and non-custodial parents to keep in mind; if one parent had custody for less than half the year, that parent does not get the claim the child tax credit.
  
  

Support

• In order to claim the child tax credit, you have to have provided at least half of your child's support for the tax year. This is true even if your child has a job and provides part of his or her own support, or even if there is a non-custodial parent who provides support assistance.
  
  

Citizenship

• In order to claim the tax credit, the child, not the parent must be a U.S. citizen or documented immigrant. The status of the parent in terms of legality or citizenship is not an issue in claiming the credit.
  
  

Relationship

• The child must be a relation or legal dependent for you to claim this tax credit. This means they must be your son or daughter, grandchild, grandniece or grandnephew, a foster child or a sibling in your custody.
  
  

Dependent

• Whether or not the child has dependent status simply refers to whether you have claimed the child as a dependent on your tax return. If you have, then the child meets this criterion for the child tax credit.