23 — Smaller of Initial or Computed Additional Credit Updated for tax year 2025

What this line means

The smaller of the excess credit over tax (line 15) or the earned income-based amount (line 22). This ensures the additional child tax credit does not exceed either the unused CTC or the amount supported by your earned income. This is the near-final step — the result flows to line 24 where it is further limited by the per-child cap from line 17.

Does this apply to you?

• You are computing the final additional child tax credit amount
• You need to apply the lower of the two limits before the per-child cap

Easy to overlook

Two separate limits are applied in sequence First, line 23 takes the smaller of the excess CTC and the earned income calculation. Then, line 24 takes the smaller of line 23 and line 17 (the per-child cap). Both limits must be satisfied. A filer with high earned income but low excess CTC will be limited by line 15. A filer with high excess CTC but low earned income will be limited by line 22. ¹ [SOURCE: IRC Section 24(d) — final limitation on additional child tax credit]

You cannot get more refunded than the CTC you could not use The additional child tax credit is refunding the excess CTC — it cannot exceed the excess itself. If your CTC after phaseout was $4,000, your tax absorbed $3,500, and only $500 is left over, the additional child tax credit is at most $500 regardless of your earned income. ² [SOURCE: IRS Schedule 8812 instructions — line 23 computation]

Watch out for this

Using the larger of lines 15 and 22 instead of the smaller. The instruction says “smaller.” Using the larger overstates the credit by exceeding one of the two required limits.

Related lines on your return

• Line 15 — Schedule 8812 — Excess credit over tax; one limit
• Line 22 — Schedule 8812 — Earned income-based amount; the other limit
• Line 24 — Schedule 8812 — Additional child tax credit; final amount after per-child cap