Got kids? You may pay less taxes than before.

Among all the other changes in the recent tax laws, the tax credits for dependent children were sort of ignored. But for certain families, the difference could be considerable.

The short version is this:

The child tax credit for all eligible taxpayers has doubled – from $1000 to $2000.

The parameters of which households are eligible has been broadly expanded – the new law raises the household income limit for the full credit from the previous $110,000 to $400,000 for most married couples (and $200,000 for most singles).

Big changes, then, and something to celebrate for most households. There is a catch, though (isn’t there always a catch?) in the new tax law, and that catch is that all child tax credits go away completely after the child hits 17. For many families, with that child going off to college, and still very much a dependent, that tax credit would be very helpful, considering the money spent on the son/daughter has now possibly increased by a factor of 10, 20, 30 or perhaps more.

Give us a call and set up an appointment if you think you can benefit from this new provision in the tax law.