Child Tax Credit and Studying Abroad Explained: Eligibility and Rules

Sending your child to study at a foreign university does not disqualify you from the Child Tax Credit. The IRS applies the same eligibility requirements whether your child attends school domestically or internationally, because time spent away at school counts as a temporary absence from your home under IRS rules.

For the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026), the Child Tax Credit is worth up to $2,200 per qualifying child under 17, with up to $1,700 of that amount refundable through the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). When your child turns 17 or older, the $500 Other Dependent Credit (ODC) applies instead if they’re a full-time student under 24. Key eligibility factors include:

Age cutoff: Your child must be under 17 at year-end to qualify for the full $2,200 CTC
SSN required for both child and parent: The OBBBA now requires valid Social Security numbers for the qualifying child and the taxpayer claiming the credit (for joint filers, at least one spouse must have an SSN)
FEIE conflict: Using the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion can eliminate your eligibility for the refundable ACTC portion

Don’t Miss the Child Tax Credit While Your Child Studies Abroad

Greenback helps you determine eligibility and claim the Child Tax Credit correctly.

Here’s how the Child Tax Credit works when your child studies abroad, what happens when they age out of the credit, and how expat parents can maximize their benefits.

Who Qualifies for the Child Tax Credit?

The Child Tax Credit eligibility requirements are identical regardless of where your child attends school:

Requirement	Rule	Study Abroad Impact
Age	Under 17 at December 31 of the tax year	No impact. Location doesn’t matter.
Relationship	Your child, stepchild, foster child, or descendant	No impact
Dependency	You must claim the child as a dependent (see dependency rules)	Temporary absence for school preserves dependency
Citizenship	U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or resident alien	U.S. citizens qualify regardless of physical location
SSN	Valid SSN for the child, issued before the return due date	ITINs do not qualify for the CTC
Taxpayer SSN	Valid SSN for the claiming taxpayer (new under OBBBA)	At least one spouse on a joint return must have an SSN
Income limits	Full credit up to $200,000 (single) / $400,000 (MFJ)	Phases out by $50 per $1,000 above these thresholds

Take Note

Most traditional college students don’t qualify for the CTC because they turn 17 before starting university. However, students who graduate high school early or take gap years might still qualify during their first year if they’re under 17 at year-end. For full details on dependency rules, residency tests, and the support test for students abroad, see our guide on claiming your child as a dependent while they study abroad.

How Much Is the Child Tax Credit Worth?

The credit amount depends on the tax year and whether you qualify for the refundable portion:

Component	2025 Tax Year (Filed in 2026)
Maximum CTC per qualifying child	$2,200
Maximum refundable ACTC	$1,700 per child
Non-refundable portion	$500 per child
Phaseout starts	$200,000 (single) / $400,000 (MFJ)
Phaseout rate	$50 reduction per $1,000 over the threshold
Inflation adjustment	Indexed for inflation starting in 2026

How the refundable portion works

The Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) is the refundable portion, meaning you can receive it as a cash refund even if you owe no federal taxes. To receive the full $1,700 refundable amount, you must have at least $11,333 in earned income. The IRS calculates this using the formula: 15% x (earned income minus $2,500).

Example: A family with $8,000 in earned income would receive a refundable credit of $825 (15% x ($8,000 minus $2,500) = $825), rather than the full $1,700.

Families with lower earned income can still claim the non-refundable $500 portion to reduce taxes owed.

What Happens When My Child Turns 17?

The age 17 cutoff is one of the most important planning considerations for families with children studying abroad. The IRS uses December 31 as the determination date: if your child turns 17 at any point during the tax year, they no longer qualify for the CTC that year, even if they were 16 for most of it.

However, your child doesn’t fall off a cliff when they age out of the CTC. Two other credits take over:

Other Dependent Credit (ODC): $500

Once your child turns 17, they may qualify for the $500 nonrefundable Other Dependent Credit if they are a full-time student under 24 and you still claim them as a dependent. The child must be a U.S. citizen, national, or resident with a valid SSN.

Education credits: up to $2,500

Once your child begins college, education credits can provide even more value than the CTC:

American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC): Up to $2,500 per student per year for the first four years of post-secondary education. 40% (up to $1,000) is refundable. The foreign school must be eligible for U.S. federal student aid (verify at StudentAid.gov).
Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC): Up to $2,000 per tax return. Available for any year of post-secondary education, including graduate school. No half-time enrollment requirement.

You cannot claim both the CTC and the AOTC for the same child in the same year, but you can transition from one to the other as your child ages. Plan for this shift in advance: the year your child turns 17 and starts college, you lose the $2,200 CTC but gain access to the $2,500 AOTC plus the $500 ODC, potentially increasing your total benefit.

How Does the FEIE Affect the Child Tax Credit for Expat Parents?

This is the most critical planning issue for American families living abroad with children studying internationally. The interaction between the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) and the Child Tax Credit can cost expat families thousands of dollars if not handled correctly.

The FEIE/ACTC conflict

If you use the FEIE to exclude your foreign earned income, the excluded income cannot be used to calculate the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit. This means:

You can still claim the non-refundable CTC portion ($500) to reduce any taxes you owe
You cannot receive the refundable ACTC ($1,700) on income excluded by the FEIE
If the FEIE reduces your taxable income to $0, you lose access to the refundable portion entirely

The Foreign Tax Credit alternative

Some expat families choose the Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) instead of the FEIE specifically to preserve full access to the refundable ACTC. With the FTC, your foreign income remains in your taxable income calculation, and you offset the U.S. tax with a dollar-for-dollar credit for foreign taxes paid. This keeps the ACTC calculation intact.

Example: Sarah lives in the UK with her 10-year-old daughter and earns $90,000.

Using FEIE: Sarah excludes $90,000, owes $0 in U.S. taxes, but cannot claim the $1,700 refundable ACTC. Total CTC benefit: $0 (she already owes nothing, and the non-refundable portion has nothing to offset).
Using FTC: Sarah reports $90,000 as taxable income, calculates U.S. tax liability, applies the FTC to eliminate the tax, and claims the full $1,700 refundable ACTC as a cash refund.

The FTC route puts $1,700 in Sarah’s pocket. Over multiple years with multiple children, this decision can mean thousands of dollars in refunds.

The FEIE vs. FTC decision involves many factors beyond the CTC. Consult with a tax professional to determine which election produces the best overall result for your family. Once you elect the FEIE, revoking it and switching to the FTC requires waiting until the next tax year and has implications that carry forward.

Do Foreign Scholarships or Student Jobs Affect the Credit?

Your child earning income abroad or receiving foreign scholarships does not directly disqualify you from the CTC. However, these factors can indirectly affect eligibility by disrupting the dependency relationship.

Student income

If your child earns significant income from part-time work, internships, or work-study programs abroad and provides more than half their own support, they may no longer qualify as your dependent, which eliminates CTC eligibility. Moderate student earnings typically don’t create a problem as long as you still provide the majority of their support. For detailed guidance on the support test calculation, see our dependency guide for students abroad.

Scholarships

Scholarships used for tuition and required fees don’t count as student support, so they don’t affect the dependency calculation. However, stipends for living expenses do count as self-support. If your child receives a large scholarship with a significant living expense component, verify that your financial contributions still exceed 50% of their total support.

529 plan distributions

Distributions from 529 plans that you funded count as support you provided, not support the student provided. This helps maintain the dependency relationship when your child also receives scholarships or earns income abroad.

What Records Should I Keep?

When claiming the CTC for a child studying abroad, maintain:

Proof of the child’s U.S. citizenship or SSN status (passport, SSN card)
Enrollment verification from the foreign institution confirming full-time student status (relevant for the ODC and dependency age extension to 23)
Support test documentation: Detailed ledger of all support expenses you pay, your child’s earnings and stipends, and scholarship award letters specifying how funds are used
Currency conversion records for all foreign expenses, using a consistent methodology
Evidence of temporary absence: Records showing your home remains the child’s permanent address (mail forwarding, bank statements, return visits during breaks)

Next Steps for Your Family

Review your child’s age as of December 31 of the tax year to determine which credit applies (CTC for under 17, ODC plus education credits for 17 and older). If you’re an expat parent, evaluate whether the FEIE or FTC produces a better overall result for your family, paying particular attention to the ACTC refundable portion.

Contact us, and one of our Customer Champions will be happy to help. If you’re ready to be matched with a Greenback accountant, get started here.

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The information provided in this article is for general guidance only and should not be construed as legal or tax advice. Child Tax Credit rules, income thresholds, and credit amounts are subject to change. Consult with a qualified tax professional regarding your unique circumstances.

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