States offering their own child tax credit: Minnesota debuts big early payments in 2025

With 2025 just a day away, you may be thinking seriously about how to tackle your taxes in the new year. If those plans involve claims the federal child tax creditYou should also be aware that your state might be offering its own version of that credit to help even more, especially if you live in Minnesota.

Whether at the state or federal level, child tax credits can offer financial life to parents, helping to put money in their pockets each year for each child they have. While the temporary expansion of the federal child tax credit is expected to expire in 2026 (PDF) unless Congress acts to extend it, parents in a handful of states may still be eligible for additional state-level credits, though the amounts offered and eligibility requirements vary somewhat.

The impact of child tax credits has been considerable, even just in recent years, with studies in the 2021 temporary expansion of the federal credit finding that it was a significant factor in reducing the poverty of the childhood Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy found that payments reduce monthly rates of child poverty of almost 30%, with payments reaching about 61 million children.

Read on to find out if your state offers a child tax credit and if your family qualifies for it. For more on taxes, find out how The IRS could handle payment applications and how the new income tax brackets could affect.

What is a child tax credit?

With a child tax credit, eligible taxpayers may be able to reduce their income tax based on how many children they claim as dependents.

First introduced in 1997, the federal level credit currently offers $2,000 per child, with only $1,600 of that amount being refundable, which means you can receive that amount even if you don’t owe that much in taxes. The remaining $400 is non-refundable, so it can only be used to lower your tax burden.

The current value of the federal credit was established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which temporarily bumped the credit until December 31, 2025. After that date, without any additional expansion by Congress, the credit is set to return to its previous amount: $1,000, non-refundable, per dependent child under 16 years of age.

Which states offer a child tax credit?

Whatever happens to the federal child tax credit in 2026, parents in the following 16 states can rest a little easier knowing they may still get a state-level credit: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Maryland. , Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Vermont.

However, the specifics of these credits — including how much they’re worth, how much is refundable and what counts as a dependent child — will vary greatly by state.

What is the Minnesota child tax credit early payment option?

On Tuesday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz introduced a new child tax credit option available to taxpayers in the North Star state known as “advance payment.” If a Minnesota resident who is eligible for the state credit files for this new option during the 2025 tax season, he will not only receive his full credit for that year as usual – the amount of which you can find below – but as well. receive the credit they will receive in 2026 first. According to the new policy, the advance payment of next year’s child tax credit will be paid in increments throughout the second half of 2025.

“The goal of this nationally-leading tax credit is to reduce child poverty and provide tax relief for Minnesota’s working-class families,” Walz said. “With the advance payment option, we make it easier for families to manage their annual family budget. This new option will increase financial freedom and ensure that families have the support they need throughout the year.”

How much is each state child tax credit and who is eligible?

Here are the 16 states that will offer child tax credits from October 2024, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Eligibility and amount varies by state, with 12 states making the credit refundable, so you can get a refund even if you don’t owe tax.

Arizona: $100 per dependent child under the age of 17, non-refundable.

California: $1,117 per qualifying dependent child under age 6, refundable. Income must be below $25,000 for the full amount, reduced amount for families with income between $25,000 and $30,931. You must also qualify for the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit.

Colorado: Up to $3,200 per qualifying dependent under the age of 16, refundable. The exact amount will vary based on income, filing status, and child’s age.

Idaho: $205 per dependent child under the age of 17, non-refundable.

Illinois: Credit worth 20% of the State Earned Income Tax Credit for a dependent child under the age of 12, refundable.

Maine: $300 per dependent child under the age of 17, refundable.

Maryland: $500 per qualifying dependent child under the age of 17, refundable. However, the child must have a disability and the family’s adjusted gross income must be $6,000 or less to qualify.

Massachusetts: $180 for one dependent child under the age of 12, or $360 for two or more, refundable. Credit also applicable for adults 65 or older or for someone with a disability.

Minnesota: $1,750 per dependent child, refundable, for individual filers making $29,500 or less, or $35,000 for joint filers.

New Jersey: $500 per dependent child under the age of 6 for taxpayers making less than $30,000, refundable. Credit decrease in $100 increments as the income range increases, with the smallest credit, $100 per dependent, available to those with an income of $120,000-$150,000.

New Mexico: Between $75 and $175 per dependent child under the age of 17, depending on income level, refundable.

new york: The credit is the greater of the value to the taxpayer: or 33% of the portion of the federal child tax credit and the additional federal tax credit allocable to qualified children, or $100 times the number of qualified children. Refundable credit, children must be 16 years or younger.

Oklahoma: 5% of the federal child tax credit per family, non-refundable. It is not available to married couples filing jointly with a gross income of more than $100,000.

Oregon: $1,000 per dependent child under the age of 5, refundable. Only available to families earning less than $30,000.

Utah: $1,000 per dependent child between the ages of 1 and 3, non-refundable. The credit decreases by $10 for every $1 of income above a certain threshold: $27,000 for married separate filers, $43,000 for single filers or $54,000 for joint filers.

Vermont: $1,000 per dependent child under the age of 5 for taxpayers making less than $125,000, refundable.

For more, check out CNET’s pick the best tax software you can get in 2024.