FREE CHILD TAX CALCULATOR

ESTIMATE YOUR CHILD TAX REFUND

The Standard Child Tax Credit refund for US citizens living abroad. You do not have to have lived in the United States or paid any US tax to qualify.

CALCULATOR

Check Your Eligibility

Do I qualify?

Taxpayer

For the regular CTC, generally-speaking you must have paid some amount of tax to the country you are living in (or been eligible to) for each year you are claiming.

For the 2021 Extra Child Tax Credit Refund, your income can be zero and you can still claim the whole amount.

You can’t file Form 2555 and get the refund, you’ll be automatically excluded. Contact us and we can look at alternative filing options for you.

Your dependents

Your dependents (children) must be 16 years of age or younger (17 for 2021) for the entirety of the year you are claiming for. They must have a valid Social Security Number and hold U.S. citizenship.

Self-employed

If you’re self-employed, you must also have made contributions to the country’s social security equivalent, such as National Insurance in the UK.

The conditions above assume you are filing from a high-income tax country such the UK, Australia, NZ or Canada. Many other countries are also valid, including almost all EU countries.

FAQS

What if I’ve already filed?
What if I already filed using the FEIE / 2555?
How can I be sure I’m eligible?
Can you take your fees out of the refund?
Child tax credit refund - risk free
In the event that an IRS refund is not issued or partly issued due to a calculation or tax return preparation error on our part, you may be eligible to have Paid Fees refunded to you, in part, or in full.

In the event of any part of a refund being paid to a third-party or other US government office, this is deemed as issued and a Refund of Fees Paid will not be considered.

Please note, the IRS can issue your refund to cover outstanding debts such as US Student Loan which has not been repaid and is in default.

Try our free Child Tax Calculator here >>
Do I need to file a U.S. federal tax return?
Overall, US citizens and Green Card holders are required to file a US Federal Tax Return each year if their income is over the minimum threshold. No matter where you have earned this income, what currency it is earned in, or whether you have also paid taxes in the country in which you reside, you are required to file in the US if your income is above these levels.

The thresholds are currently:
- Single with income over $12,950
- Married filing jointly with income over $25,900
- Married filing separately with income over $5
- Self-employed individuals need to file if their income is over $400
- Head of Household is over $19,400
Note: You may need to file state taxes as well as taxes for your small business operating overseas. Depending on your situation, you may also be required to file additional reports including Form 8938 and the Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR or FinCEN Form 114) to report assets held overseas.
I have not filed my U.S. tax returns in years; where do I start?
Your situation is quite common, and we help people with it every day.
Let me tell you about the Streamlined Offshore Filing Procedure. It’s an amnesty program the IRS is offering at the moment.

In a nutshell, we have to file the last three US tax returns that you’ve missed, plus your bank account reports for the last 6 years.
It is complicated, but all the hard work is done on our side, it really isn’t difficult for you at all.

By using the Amnesty program, you can forget about previous years, the IRS promises not to look back any further than three tax returns we file, as long as you promise to keep filing each year going forward.
On top of that, they promise no fines and no penalties.

The Streamlined Amnesty Program is only available for a limited time so it’s certainly worth taking advantage of.
Less than 1% of our clients pay US tax, so the chances are you won’t have to pay the IRS a single cent.
To get started in the process, complete our US Tax Amnesty questionnaire using this link.

Check Your Eligibility Now

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What You Should Know About the Regular Child Tax Credit from 2019 – 2023

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) the following child tax credit rules will take place between 2019 and 2021:

The Child Tax Credit under 2019 tax reform is worth up to $2,000 per qualifying child. The age cut-off remains at 17 (the child must be under 17 at the end of the year for taxpayers to claim the credit).
The refundable portion of the credit is limited to $1,400. This amount will be adjusted for inflation after 2018.
The earned income threshold for the refundable credit is lowered to $2,500.
The beginning credit phaseout for the child tax credit increases in 2018 to $200,000 ($400,000 for joint filers). The phaseout also applies to the new $500 credit for other dependents.
The child must have a valid SSN to qualify for the $2,000 Child Tax Credit.

What if I pay and I don’t get the refund?

We’ll refund all of your fees.
We’re the professionals. We’ll take the risk. Why should you?

Conditions apply.

– What’s the process? –

Watch Leo discussing the Child Tax Refund

A little about us…

Expat Tax Online, LLC is owned and operated by Expat US Tax, which has been successfully trading since 2011, successfully filing over 9,000 tax returns. Both companies are owned by Andrew J. Landin

2023 marks Andrew’s 20th year of expatriate taxes in a career which started with Ernst & Young in London, before relocating to Melbourne and joining PricewaterhouseCoopers. Learn more…

Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award 2023

How much will it cost me to file?

A standard tax return with e-file is just US$298. There could be additional fees if you have additional filing requirements.

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Check Your Eligibility Now

Who prepares my tax return?

Your return will pass through 3 stages; Assessment, Preparation, and Approval. The Preparation stage is completed by licensed (EA, CPA) tax preparer. The Approval stage is completed by a senior tax specialist (EA, CPA) with a minimum 8 years experience in international US tax preparation.

How long does it takes?

Once we have all your information, you can expect prepared tax returns within 20 working days.
Allow around 20-25 days for the IRS Streamlined Amnesty program.