The IRS has officially set the 2026 Child Tax Credit at $2,200 per qualifying child, with a refundable portion of up to $1,700. For the 2027 tax year, projections based on statutory inflation adjustments indicate an increase to $2,300 per qualifying child, with a refundable portion of up to $1,800.
The 2027 figures are not yet official. The IRS is expected to publish the official amounts in a revenue procedure sometime between mid-October and November 2026. The projections are based on the same cost-of-living formula that produced the confirmed 2026 figures.
Confirmed vs. Projected Figures
For tax year 2026, the IRS has already confirmed a $2,200 credit per qualifying child, with up to $1,700 of that amount being refundable. This is an official figure, set by the IRS in a revenue procedure.
For tax year 2027, the projected amounts are $2,300 per qualifying child and $1,800 refundable. These figures are derived from the same inflation adjustment formula written into the tax statute. The unrounded calculations result in either $2,325.13 or $2,322.24, both of which round down to $2,300.
Statutory Basis for Adjustments
The child tax credit’s current dollar amounts are governed by 26 U.S.C. § 24. Public Law 119-21 made the $2,200 base credit permanent, eliminating a previous sunset date.
The inflation adjustment provision, section 24(i), applies to two figures: the base credit amount and the base refundable amount. The base credit is adjusted using 2024 data for the formula’s base year, while the refundable amount uses 2017 data. Other figures, such as the phase-out thresholds and the credit for other dependents, remain flat and are not indexed for inflation.
IRS Schedule for Official Confirmation
The IRS typically issues the revenue procedure confirming the child tax credit amounts for a given tax year between mid-October and November of the year prior. For the 2027 tax year, this official confirmation is expected to be released between mid-October and November 2026.
The official confirmation will finalize the amounts, which are currently projections based on published cost-of-living data. Once the IRS publishes the revenue procedure, the $2,300 credit and $1,800 refundable portion will become the official figures for the 2027 tax year.
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