Here’s what HIVE AI had to say about “What are the main family-related tax credits available for 2025 returns (children, dependents, care, education)?”:
For 2025 federal returns (filed in 2026): main family-related credits
Child-related / dependents
- Child Tax Credit (CTC)
- Up to $2,200 per qualifying child for tax year 2025. 1
- Child generally must be under age 17 at year-end and meet relationship, residency, support, and dependency tests; the child must have an SSN valid for employment issued by the due date of the return (including extensions). 1
- Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) (refundable portion of CTC)
- Refundable amount is up to $1,700 per qualifying child for tax year 2025 (subject to eligibility limits). 2
- Credit for Other Dependents (ODC)
- Up to $500 per qualifying dependent who doesn’t qualify for CTC/ACTC (for example, an older child age 17+, or other qualifying relatives you claim as dependents). 3
- IRS notes ODC is available for tax years 2018 through 2025. 3
- Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
- A refundable credit that can be larger when you have qualifying children; the dollar amounts and phaseouts vary by filing status and number of qualifying children. IRS publishes the annual figures for tax year 2025 in the inflation-adjustment guidance. 2
Child/dependent care
- Child and Dependent Care Credit (CDCC)
- Available if you paid for care so you (and your spouse if married filing jointly) could work or look for work; qualifying persons generally include a child under 13, or a spouse/dependent incapable of self-care who lived with you more than half the year. 4
- Credit rate is 20% to 35% of allowable expenses; expenses are limited to $3,000 for one qualifying person, or $6,000 for two or more. 4
- The care provider can’t be your spouse, your dependent, your child under age 19, or (for a child under 13) the child’s parent; you generally must provide the provider’s identifying information on Form 2441. 5
Adoption
- Adoption Credit
- Qualified adoption expenses are limited to $17,280 per eligible child for 2025. 6
- For 2025, up to $5,000 of the adoption credit may be refundable (with the rest nonrefundable and potentially carried forward, subject to the rules). 7
- Income phaseout thresholds for 2025 are addressed in IRS guidance and instructions (MAGI over $259,190 begins to phase out; fully phased out at $299,190). 7
Education (for you, your spouse, or dependents)
- American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC)
- Up to $2,500 per eligible student (generally first 4 years of higher education); up to 40% (max $1,000) can be refundable. 8
- Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC)
- 20% of qualified education expenses up to $10,000 per return (max $2,000 credit). 9
- For 2025, phaseout applies if MAGI is between $80,000 and $90,000 ($160,000 and $180,000 if joint); cannot claim if MAGI is $90,000+ ($180,000+ if joint). 9
- Cannot claim an education credit if married filing separately; and you can’t claim both AOTC and LLC for the same student in the same year. 9
Sources
1 – Child Tax Credit
2 – Internal Revenue Bulletin: 2024-45
3 – What you need to know about child tax credits
4 – Understanding the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
5 – Child and Dependent Care Credit information
6 – Adoption Credit
7 – Instructions for Form 8839 (2025)
8 – American Opportunity Tax Credit
9 – Instructions for Form 8863 (2025)
Try Your AI Tax Assistant for Free!
Ready to transform your practice with agentic AI in tax? See firsthand how our cutting-edge AI tax tools can revolutionize your approach to tax research and planning.