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Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Publication 972 Cat. No. 26584R — OMB No. 1545-0074 Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents For use in preparing 2020 Returns Get forms and other information faster and easier at: • IRS.gov (English) • IRS.gov/Spanish (Español) • IRS.gov/Chinese (中文) • IRS.gov/Korean (한국어) • IRS.gov/Russian (Pусский) • IRS.gov/Vietnamese (TiếngViệt) Future Developments For the latest information about developments related to Pub. 972, such as legislation enacted after it was published, go to IRS.gov/Pub972. What’s New Election to use 2019 earned income to figure 2020 additional child tax credit. Recent legislation provided an election to use your 2019 earned income to figure your 2020 additional child tax credit. For more information, see the Instructions for Form 8812. Reminders Abbreviations used throughout this publication. The following abbreviations will be used in this publication when appropriate. • ACTC means additional child tax credit. • ATIN means adoption taxpayer identification number. • CTC means child tax credit. • ITIN means individual taxpayer identification number. • ODC means credit for other dependents. • SSN means social security number. • TIN means taxpayer identification number. Other abbreviations may be used in this publication and will be defined as needed. Delayed refund for returns claiming the EIC or ACTC. The IRS cannot issue refunds before mid-February 2021 for returns that properly claim the earned income credit (EIC) or the ACTC. This time frame applies to the entire refund, not just the portion associated with these credits. Photographs of missing children. The Internal Reve- nue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC). Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or visiting www.missingkids.org if you recognize a child. Introduction This publication has worksheets for figuring the CTC and ODC. It also has a worksheet for figuring earned income. These worksheets are intended primarily for individuals sent to this publication by the instructions to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, or Schedule 8812. Anyone can choose to use the worksheets in this publication, but most Jan 11, 2021