6 — Initial Child Tax Credit Amount Updated for tax year 2025

What this line means

The number of qualifying children from line 5 multiplied by $2,200. This is the maximum possible child tax credit before any phaseout reduction. For 2025, each qualifying child under age 17 with a valid SSN generates a $2,200 credit. This is a starting point — your actual credit may be lower after the income-based phaseout is applied. ¹

Does this apply to you?

• You entered one or more qualifying children on line 5
• You are computing the child tax credit before applying the income phaseout

Easy to overlook

The $2,200 is per child, not per family Each qualifying child generates a separate $2,200 credit. A family with four qualifying children starts with an $8,800 credit on line 6 before phaseout. Filers with several children sometimes underestimate how large the credit can be, especially since up to $1,700 per child can be refundable through the additional child tax credit. ² [SOURCE: One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21) — CTC increase to $2,200]

The CTC increased from $2,000 to $2,200 for 2025 The CTC was $2,000 per child under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2018-2024). The One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased it to $2,200 for 2025 and indexed the amount for inflation starting in 2026. ³ Filers using prior-year knowledge may underestimate the credit available to them. [SOURCE: IRS Schedule 8812 instructions — line 6 computation]

Watch out for this

Including children age 17 or older in the count. Only children under 17 at the end of the tax year qualify for the $2,200 credit. A child who turned 17 during the year is not a qualifying child for line 5, and including them inflates the initial credit on line 6.

Related lines on your return

• Line 5 — Schedule 8812 — Number of qualifying children; multiplied by $2,200 to get this line
• Line 9 — Schedule 8812 — Phaseout reduction; subtracted from this amount
• Line 10 — Schedule 8812 — Credit after phaseout; what remains of line 6 after reduction