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Schedule 8812 Lines 15 to 20: Part II-A Limits (2025 Return)

Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Lines 15 to 20 are Part II-A, where the form tests whether any of the credit can come back as a refundable additional child tax credit. Line 15 is reserved and stays empty. Line 16a is what is left of the credit after line 14, line 16b is a per-child cap, line 17 takes the smaller, and lines 18a to 20 measure your earned income. Line 18a comes from the Earned Income Chart or Worksheet and line 18b from your combat pay.

IRS worksheets read line by line: Schedule 8812 Credit Limit Worksheet B and Schedule 8812 Earned Income Worksheet.

What Part II-A is for and when you reach it

The part is headed “Part II-A Additional Child Tax Credit for All Filers”. The instructions give the entry test: “If the amount on line 12 is more than line 14, you may be able to take the additional child tax credit.” They also say what to finish first: “Also, complete Schedule 3, (Form 1040) line 11, before completing Part II-A.” The same instructions tell Form 1040 and 1040-SR filers to complete the return through line 27a. If you file Form 2555, the form itself says “Caution: If you file Form 2555, you cannot claim the additional child tax credit.” The step before this one is covered on the lines 9 to 14 page.

Line 15, the reserved line

The form’s caption for line 15 is “Reserved for future use”. The instructions for the line say “Line 15 has been reserved for future use”. There is nothing to look up and nothing to enter, and the instructions have no other paragraph for it.

Lines 16a, 16b and 17: the two caps

Line 16a reads “Subtract line 14 from line 12. If zero, stop here; you cannot take the additional child tax credit”. Line 16b asks for the “Number of qualifying children under age 17 with the required social security number” multiplied by the per-child amount printed on the form, and adds “Enter the result. If zero, stop here; you cannot claim the additional child tax credit”. The form adds a reminder: “The number of children you use for this line is the same as the number of children you used for line 4.” Where that count comes from is on the line 4 page. The instructions describe the ceiling in the Reminders: “The maximum amount of ACTC for each qualifying child is $1,700.” Line 17 then says “Enter the smaller of line 16a or line 16b”.

A short illustration of that comparison (computed illustration, not an IRS example): if line 16a came to $1,200 and line 16b came to $1,700 then line 17 would be $1,200 as the smaller of the two.

Lines 18a and 18b: earned income and combat pay

The form captions are “Earned income (see instructions)” and “Nontaxable combat pay (see instructions)”. For line 18a the instructions pick the tool by your situation. If you use an optional method for net earnings from self-employment, you “use the Earned Income Worksheet, later, to figure the amount to enter on line 18a”. Otherwise “all other taxpayers can use the Earned Income Chart, later, to figure the amount to enter on line 18a.” Both the worksheet and the chart are tables in the instructions, so work through them there rather than from a figure on this page. “Income excluded under a tax treaty is also excluded from the computation of earned income on line 18a.”

Line 18b has its own paragraph: “Enter on line 18b the total amount of nontaxable combat pay that you (and your spouse if filing jointly) received in 2025.” It adds “This amount will be reported either on line 1i of Form 1040, or 1040-SR, or should be shown in Form W-2, box 12, with code Q.” The earned income side is also built from your wages; see the Form 1040 line 1a page, and the combat pay entry on the Form 1040 lines 1h and 1i page.

Bona fide residents of Puerto Rico get a special instruction for this line: “Don’t include income earned in Puerto Rico, which you exclude from U.S. tax as a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico.”

Lines 19 and 20: the dollar floor and the 15% step

Line 19 asks “Is the amount on line 18a more than $2,500?” On a yes, the form says “Subtract $2,500 from the amount on line 18a. Enter the result”. Line 20 says “Multiply the amount on line 19 by 15% (0.15) and enter the result”.

Computed illustration, not an IRS example: with $12,500 on line 18a line 19 is $12,500 minus $2,500 and that is $10,000. Then line 20 is computed as 15% of $10,000 and so it is $1,500.

Where the number comes from

Line 16a comes from lines 12 and 14 of the same schedule, line 16b from the child count on line 4, line 17 from the comparison of those two, and lines 18a and 18b from your return, the Earned Income Chart or Worksheet and your combat pay records. Line 19 and line 20 are arithmetic on line 18a. Nothing on lines 15 to 20 is looked up in a separate table apart from the earned income tool.

Where it goes next

Right after line 20 the form gives a routing instruction. It begins “Next. On line 16b, is the amount $5,100 or more?” On a yes it says “If line 20 is equal to or more than line 17, skip Part II-B and enter the amount from line 17 on line 27.” The yes note goes on: “Otherwise, go to line 21.” That applies when line 20 is less than line 17. On a no, it says “If you are a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico, go to line 21.” and otherwise “skip Part II-B and enter the smaller of line 17 or line 20 on line 27”. Lines 21 to 26 are covered on the lines 21 to 26 page and line 27 on the line 27 page.

Edition and line numbers

This page reads the 2025 Schedule 8812 (Form 1040), Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents and its 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. They are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The form header says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” Check the tax year printed on the form you are filling in and use the line numbers on that year’s form, because a different year’s form can number or word its lines differently. The whole schedule is walked through on the Schedule 8812 line by line guide page.

Common mistakes

  • Using a different child count on line 16b. The form says “The number of children you use for this line is the same as the number of children you used for line 4.”
  • Counting treaty income as earned income. The instructions say “Income excluded under a tax treaty is also excluded from the computation of earned income on line 18a.”
  • Completing Part II-A while filing Form 2555. The form says “Caution: If you file Form 2555, you cannot claim the additional child tax credit.”

Related: Form 1040 line 1a, Form 1040 lines 1h and 1i, Form 1040 line 28, and child tax credit.

Sources

Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.

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