The $2,200 Tax Hack That Parents Love

How the Child Tax Credit Can Work For You

August 05, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

👶 What is The Child Tax Credit and How Can it Work For Me?

Summary

The Child Tax Credit is a benefit offered by the U.S. federal government to help families with the costs of raising children. It reduces the amount of federal income tax you owe dollar-for-dollar by offering guardians a return on their taxes per child. Stepchildren, foster children, half siblings and descendants, including grandchildren and nieces or nephews, may also qualify if the tax filer is their main caretaker.

How much is the credit?

After the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill, under §70104, legal caretakers may receive a credit up to $2,200 per child they claim as a dependent.

What’s the difference between a credit and a deduction?

A tax credit is an amount that is reduced from the total amount of tax you owe, whereas a deduction is an amount reduced from your taxable income.
- Explain like I’m 5: I have 1 child that I claim as a dependent and am eligible to receive the full $2,200 child tax credit for my child. This year, I owe $10,000 in federal taxes. Now after the child tax credit is applied, I only owe $7,800 in federal taxes.

Qualifying Children Requirements:

Your child must:

Be under age 17 at the end of the tax year
Be your biological, adopted, foster, stepchild, sibling, or a descendant (like a grandchild or niece/nephew)
Have lived with you for more than half the year
Be claimed as a dependent on your tax return
Be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien
Have a valid Social Security number

What if I make too much?

For a single filer, the credit starts to decrease for any amount they earn past $200,000; for joint filers the threshold is $400,000. Caregivers earning more than $240,000 for a single filer and $440,000 for joint filers do not receive anything.

How do I claim it?

You claim the credit on Form 1040, usually using Schedule 8812.

🧾 Bad day to be a statistician

Last week, President Trump dismissed Erika McEntarfer, the Biden-appointed Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, just hours after a jobs report showed:

Only 73,000 net job gains in July — below expectations
A total downward revision of 200,000+ jobs for May and June

Investors and central bankers expressed worry that undermining trust in U.S. economic data could destabilize policy-making and financial markets reliant on accurate statistics.

Stock markets fell hard on Friday upon the firing, but have since rebounded for the most part.

🔥 The rise of faceless YouTube channels

Faceless YouTube channels are becoming increasingly popular as they allow creators to keep their personal identity hidden, protecting themselves from online harassment, or stalking. They offer content to viewers that does not include any information regarding the individual creating the content at all. The barrier for entry is quite low to create a faceless channel. You don’t need a fancy camera, lighting setup, or on-camera confidence - you can launch a channel using voiceovers, animations, stock footage, AI-generated visuals, or even text-to-speech. This also makes it easier to scale multiple channels or content platforms at once.

Check out these FREE ideas for faceless YouTube Channels:

Channel Type	Example Content Style

Storytelling/True Crime

Narrated tales over still images or animations

Finance & Investing

Voiceover + charts or stock footage

Motivational/Quotes

Text animations + music + AI narration

List Videos/Top 10s

Stock footage + text + voiceover

Gaming (No Commentary)

Just gameplay + text on screen

Tutorials/How-Tos

Screen recordings or whiteboard-style animations

Did You Know?

👶 The record for the most children born to one woman is 69.

According to historical records from the 1700s, a Russian woman known only as the wife of Feodor Vassilyev gave birth to:

16 pairs of twins
7 sets of triplets
4 sets of quadruplets

All between 1725 and 1765—and 67 of the 69 children reportedly survived infancy!

It's one of the most mind-blowing family records in history—though modern historians debate how accurate it is, the story persists as the most extreme case ever recorded.

If you applied the Child Tax Credit for this couple, they could have received $151,800 in 2025 tax credits!

Till next time,

Tax Hacks

^{The content provided in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, professional tax, legal, or financial advice. While we strive to ensure accuracy, tax laws are complex and subject to change. Always consult with a qualified tax professional or financial advisor regarding your specific situation before making any decisions based on the information provided herein.}

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