Child Tax/Child Care Tax Credit

The Child Tax/Child Care Tax Credit is an Oklahoma tax credit that can be claimed by parents of dependent children. Taxpayers can claim the greater of five percent of the federal Child Tax Credit or twenty percent of the federal Child Care Tax Credit. In both cases, federal adjusted gross income cannot exceed $100,000 for married couples filing jointly.

Under the provisions of the 2025 ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, the federal child tax credit provides a credit of up to $2,200 per child under age 17, an increase from the prior limit of $2,000 per child. The credit will be indexed to inflation beginning in 2026. If the credit exceeds taxes owed, families can receive up to $1,700 per child as a refund. Under the American Rescue Plan Act (2021), the credit was increased to $3,600 for children under age 6 and to $3,000 for children age 6-17. The credit was made fully refundable and most families received a monthly payment of $250 or $300 per child. These expansions in the credit expired at the end of 2021 after Congress failed to renew it.

A child must be a U.S. citizen, national, or resident and have a Social Security number (SSN) to be eligible for the Child Tax Credit.

In 2022, the credit was claimed on 352,998 Oklahoma tax returns for a total amount of $42.6 million, according to the Oklahoma Tax Commission’s Tax Expenditure Report.