Child tax credit

A significant tax break for low to middle income people is the child tax credit. This is a $2,000 credit for each dependent under age 17. You can qualify for this benefit even if you don't owe any tax. Many people who are here illegally file taxes to get refunds using an ITIN which is a substitute for a social security number. It is used only to file taxes. To claim the child tax credit the dependent must have a social security number. Many children qualify as dependents including nephews and nieces. It is somewhat common for people to list dependents using fake social security numbers. As a taxpayer using an ITIN to file I can include,for example, ten dependents and qualify for a $20,000 refund. It is estimated that 2 million dependents are used this way for total funds of $4 billion dollars in refunds.