This tax season, some families could see a bigger tax break for their children due to changes from President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill.”
Enacted in July, Trump’s legislation permanently increased the maximum child tax credit to $2,200 per child for 2025, up from $2,000. That value will be indexed for inflation starting in 2026.
If you previously qualified for the full $2,000 credit, the update could trigger a $200 bigger refund or a $200 lower tax bill per kid, for your 2025 return, depending on your situation, experts say.
In 2025, some 90% of families with children received the child tax credit, and the average tax break per family was $2,520, according to the Tax Policy Center.
Nearly 37 million returns claimed the child tax credit or credit for other dependents during tax year 2022, based on the latest IRS estimates.
