Do you have to claim Child tax credit? I mean if i have 8 children do i have to claim all or can claim only 2?

School officials are asking why i didnt claim all of my children when i file this year.

Do you have to claim Child tax credit? I mean if i have 8 children do i have to claim all or can claim only 2?
You are never required to claim a credit, or a deduction. But if you're eligible, why wouldn't you? And how do school officials know how many you did or didn't claim? If you told them, it sounds like they're just trying to help you get some more money.





A lot of people (like Ski Bum who just gave you a wrong answer) think you are only allowed to claim two. That's not true. For EIC, only the first two count, but for child tax credit, they all do. And if you don't have enough tax liability to get the benefit of the $1000 for each, look into the additional child tax credit which with that many kids, you'd probably be eligible for - it's a refundable credit, which means that you get it whether you owe any tax or not.
Reply:your school officials dont know too much about taxes. For federal tax purposes you only get the credit for the first two
Reply:If you provided more than 1/2 of their support, claim them as dependents. That's perfectly legitimate.





The confusion comes in where the Earned Income credit and Child Tax Credit is concerned. Not every child who is your dependent will qualify you for EIC or the CTC, but you will still be able to deduct a personal exemption of $3300 for each dependent child (and one for yourself and your spouse if you're married) So if you are filing a joint tax return with your spouse and you two supported all of your 8 children, your personal exemption amount on the return will be $33,000.





This is important because it directly reduces the amount of income you'll be taxed on.