Child Tax Credit for Expats 2022 | US Expat Taxes with Nathalie - YouTube

Why file a u.s tax return when you  don't even live in the US anymore?  

Because you might be getting thousands in  refunds every single year even with no US income.  

Watch and learn. Hello, I'm Nathalie, CEO of  MyExpatTaxes and fellow parent. his video is  

dedicated to all those parents out there juggling  family life with the added bonus of international  

family get-togethers during a pandemic and staying  on top of their u.s expat taxes. So kudos to you.  

Now let's dive in and figure out how to get  you a refund to make it worth all the effort

What is a child tax credit? In short, US tax  filing parents can claim a credit between one  

thousand four hundred dollars and three thousand  six hundred dollars per qualifying child on their  

u.s tax return every year. This credit will  first lower any u.s tax due on your return  

but if you still have remaining credit left over  

that means it can be refundable which means  the IRS would actually pay you this money.  

But the key term to hold on to here is what is  a qualifying child? Is your child a qualifying  

child? There are three main checks. Can you claim  your child as a dependent on your tax return?  

If you're unsure check out my expert taxes we'll  help you determine that for free. Does your child  

have a valid us social security number by the due  date of your tax return including extensions? And  

is your child young enough? You'll need to know  their age as of December 31st of that tax year  

the age threshold was under age 18 for the 2021  tax year and under age 17 for all other tax years.  

How much child tax credit can you get per child?  Well, it depends on what year we're talking  

for the 2021 tax year that we file now in  calendar year 2022 we have special increased  

amounts due to the pandemic. Three thousand six  hundred dollars per child under the age of six  

three thousand dollars per child aged six to  seventeen and for the 2020 tax year and prior the  

amount was two thousand dollars per child under  the age of 17. So how much of the child tax credit  

is actually refundable? Well, this depends on more  than just the tax year it also depends on your  

expat status and for the 2021 tax period, the big  question is did you spend more than half of 2021  

living in the u.s? The IRS defines living  in the u.s for a majority of 2021 as  

if you or your spouse if filing jointly had a  principal place of abode in the united states for  

more than one half of 2021 this means that your  main home was in the 50 states or the district of  

columbia for more than one half of 2021. Your main  home can be any location where you regularly live.  

Your main home may be your house, apartment,  mobile home, shelter, temporary lodging,  

or other location and doesn't need to be the  same physical location throughout the year.  

You don't need a permanent address and possibly  the most important part if you're temporarily away  

from your main home because of illness, education,  business, or vacation, you are generally treated  

as living in your main home. So if you are abroad  due to a temporary reason listed on the screen,  

you can still certify in MyExpatTaxes that  you were considered as living in the us  

your main home for the majority of 2021. Also,  for those who are stationed abroad, no worries.  

US military personnel stationed outside the united  states on extended active duty are considered to  

have a main home in the United States for purposes  of claiming a child tax credit. Coming back to the  

refundable amount calculation, so if you had a  main home in the US for more than half of 2021,  

then the full amount would be refundable.  Let me repeat that for you expats out there  

in Antarctica. The full amount would be  refundable so that's three thousand six  

hundred dollars per child aged under six three  thousand dollars per child aged between 6 and 17.  

But, if you did not have a main home  in the u.s for more than half of 2021,  

then you can only claim the normal  $1,400 per child as a refundable amount.  

And, for years prior to 2021, so for tax period  2020 2019 regardless of your expert status you  

can only claim the normal amount of four hundred  dollars per child as a refundable child tax credit  

you must be thinking wait i don't have any u.s  income i don't pay any u.s taxes why would the  

u.s government give me a tax refund well like  many other countries the US will provide financial  

assistance to parents in the form of tax credits  and refunds regardless of where you live or work  

just keep in mind you cannot get a refund  if you use the foreign income exclusion  

or your earned income is not high enough.  If that sounds confusing, don't worry. We  

got you. MyExpatTaxes will calculate what  you're eligible for MyExpatTaxes is the only  

tax software out there that really specializes in  and optimizes us expert tax returns so we got you  

keep in mind there are a few things are related to  this topic I haven't really covered in this video  

but I'll briefly touch on them right now if you  got advanced child tax credits the IRS would have  

sent you letter 6419 make sure you at least model  your return on my expect taxes before April 18,  

2022, because any access advanced payments  need to be paid back to the IRS stat  

the child independent care credit also got major  increases and is refundable for those that lived  

in the u.s for more than half of 2021 and lastly  if you have children without a u.s social security  

number or just added a new family member last  year file an extension via MyExpatTaxes asap  

then you have until October 17, 2022 to get your  ducks in a row. To claim both the refundable child  

tax credits and that stimulus money. If you're  interested in getting more information on these  

related topics or any others give this video  a thumbs up and subscribe otherwise I won't  

make these videos because I'm not really  a fan of talking to the camera. But hey,  

the times we live in right we gotta do what we  gotta do. So talk to you later on MyExpatTaxes,  

where if you opt to work with one of our expert  tax professionals you might end up working with  

me directly. And, as always, to learn more you  can explore the my expert MyExpatTaxes HelpCenter