14c — Nonrefundable Credit for Other Dependents Updated for tax year 2025

What this line means

The portion of the credit for other dependents that offsets your tax liability. This is the smaller of the credit for other dependents (from line 12, adjusted for any phaseout) or the remaining tax liability after the child tax credit has been applied. Unlike the child tax credit, no refundable version exists — whatever cannot be used against your tax is gone.

Does this apply to you?

• You have other dependents (age 17+, ITIN holders, or qualifying relatives) and are determining the usable credit
• You need to allocate remaining tax liability between the CTC and the credit for other dependents

Easy to overlook

There is no “additional credit for other dependents” The child tax credit has a refundable backup (the additional child tax credit on lines 15-24). The credit for other dependents has no such backup. If your tax liability is not large enough to absorb the $500 per dependent, the unused portion simply disappears. You cannot carry it forward to next year. ¹ [SOURCE: IRC Section 24(h)(4) — other dependents credit is nonrefundable only]

The CTC gets priority over this credit When tax liability is limited, the child tax credit is applied first. Only the remaining tax liability is available for the credit for other dependents. This matters because the CTC has a refundable backup and the other dependents credit does not — the ordering is designed to maximize the refundable benefit. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the $500 ODC amount and the $200,000/$400,000 phaseout thresholds permanent law — they no longer sunset after 2025. ² [SOURCE: IRS Schedule 8812 instructions — line 14c allocation]

Watch out for this

Assuming unused credit for other dependents carries forward to next year. No carryforward exists for this credit. If you cannot use the full $500 per dependent this year, the unused amount is permanently lost. This is different from credits like the general business credit, which can carry forward.

Related lines on your return

• Line 12 — Schedule 8812 — Credit for other dependents; the amount before the tax liability limit
• Line 14a — Schedule 8812 — Tax liability limit; the overall cap
• Line 14b — Schedule 8812 — Nonrefundable child tax credit; applied first before this credit