Créditos fiscales reembolsables frente a créditos fiscales no reembolsables

Sometimes credits can be too much, and we mean that in every sense of the word. Thankfully, tax credits offer some much needed relief to the overwhelmed taxpayer. Tax credits are a fantastic way to reduce your tax liability (the amount of money you owe in taxes), and some of them can even give you a tax refund (or make it bigger). So they are great, but do you know the difference between refundable and nonrefundable tax credits? Do you know how each of them work? How about partially refundable tax credits?

As with all things tax-related, tax credits can be quite the complex topic, so this guide will go into the specifics of each type of tax credit, how they work, and how you can take advantage of them during tax season. Let’s dive in!

What Are Tax Credits?

The IRS defines tax credits as a dollar-for-dollar amount that a taxpayer can claim on their tax return in order to reduce their tax liability. If you’re eligible for a tax credit, that means that you can reduce how much you owe in taxes by whatever amount the credit is valued at.

What’s The Difference Between A Tax Credit And A Deduction?

Believe it or not, when it comes down to it, tax credits help you save more money than deductions, because the latter only reduce your taxable income while the former actually reduce your total tax bill. Let’s look at how with an example:

• Suppose that your taxable income is $50,000 and you have $10,000 in deductions. That means your new taxable income is $40,000. Now, hypothetically, let’s say your tax rate is 18% for your entire taxable income; that means your tax liability would be $7,200.
• Now imagine you have a taxable income of $50,000 but you’re eligible for a $10,000 refundable tax credit. At a tax rate of 18%, your tax liability would be $9,000; but remember, tax credits reduce what you owe dollar-for-dollar, which means that with a $10,000 credit, not only do the the $9,000 in owed taxes turn to zero (-$1,000, actually), but since the credit is refundable, the extra $1,000 are now owed to you.
• As you can see, the difference is plain as day. In this hypothetical scenario, you would owe $7,200, but with tax credits your liability was virtually eliminated and actually got a $1,000 refund.

Reducing Your Tax Bill with Refundable Tax Credits or Non-Refundable Tax Credits

When we say that créditos fiscales give you a dollar-for-dollar reduction of your tax bill, we do mean dollar-for-dollar. For example, a $500 tax credit actually takes $500 off your tax balance due. A deducción fiscalpor otra parte, reduce su ingresos sujetos a impuestos y es igual al porcentaje de tu tramo impositivo marginal: por ejemplo, si estás en el tramo impositivo 10%, una deducción fiscal de $500 te ahorrará $50 en impuestos (porque 0,25 × $500 = $50). Ahora puedes ver por qué un crédito fiscal es más valioso que una deducción fiscal equivalente en dólares.

However, not all tax credits are created equal. Most tax credits are nonrefundable, which means that any excess amount expires the year in which it is used and is not refunded to you. However, some tax credits are refundable and can actually increase your reembolso de impuestos.

RELACIONADO: Créditos fiscales para familias con hijos y personas a cargo

Créditos fiscales reembolsables

Los créditos reembolsables son el tipo de crédito fiscal más versátil. Estos créditos se tratan igual que los pagos de impuestos que usted hace al IRS, tales como impuestos sobre la renta retenidos de su nómina o de los pagos de impuestos estimados que realice a lo largo del año. En otras palabras, un crédito reembolsable se resta de la cantidad de impuestos que debe (después de las deducciones), de forma similar a la forma en que los impuestos retenidos de su nómina se restan de su deuda tributaria anual total.

Un crédito fiscal reembolsable es especialmente ventajoso porque puede reducir su deuda tributaria por debajo de cero. Si el importe de un crédito fiscal reembolsable es superior al importe de los impuestos adeudados, la diferencia se le devolverá como un reembolso de impuestos. Si ya se le debe un reembolso de impuestos, el crédito reembolsable se añadirá para aumentar el importe de su reembolso.

He aquí algunos ejemplos de créditos fiscales reembolsables:

• Crédito fiscal adicional por hijos: The Additional Child Tax Credit is a subset of the Child Tax Credit (with only the latter being refundable up to $1,700). Your income must be below $400,000 for couples filing jointly or $200,000 for all other filing statuses.

• Crédito Fiscal por Ingresos Ganados (EITC): This credit helps low-to-moderate income working individuals and families and could give you a tax break of up to $7,830 for the 2024 tax year (depending on your income). You don’t need children to qualify, contrary to popular belief, but having children does have the potential for giving you a higher credit amount.

• Health Coverage Tax Credit: With the HCTC, you could have up to 72.5% of qualified health insurance premiums paid for (if you or your family are eligible).

• Small Business Health Care Tax Credit: This is a credit worth up to 50% of the costs of your employees’ premiums (or 35% for non-profit employers). It’s meant for “employers that pay average wages of less than an inflation-adjusted amount a year per full-time equivalent” according to the IRS.

RELACIONADO: El Crédito Fiscal por Hijos expandido

Créditos fiscales no reembolsables

Los créditos no reembolsables son otra buena forma de reducir su factura fiscal. Un crédito no reembolsable se resta de su deuda tributaria, hasta el importe total que debe. Pero a diferencia de un crédito fiscal reembolsable, un crédito no reembolsable no puede reducir su saldo fiscal más allá de cero. Cualquier parte no utilizada de un crédito fiscal no reembolsable caducará en el año en que se solicita el crédito y no se puede prorrogar.

Algunos ejemplos de créditos fiscales no reembolsables son:

• Adoption Tax Credit: Adopting a child makes you eligible for the Adoption Tax Credit, which goes up to $16,810 in qualified expenses for the 2024 tax year.

• Crédito fiscal por hijos: As we mentioned in the previous section, only the “additional child” portion of the credit is refundable. Still, the Child Tax Credit gives you a tax break for qualifying children of up to $2,000 per kid.

• Foreign Tax Credit: This is a tax credit that you can apply for if a foreign country imposes taxes on you. It’s meant to relieve your tax burden when your income is taxed by both a foreign country and the U.S.

• Electric Vehicle Tax Credit: Worth up to $7,500, the EV Tax Credit incentivizes the acquisition of an electric vehicle. This credit is nonrefundable on top of not being transferable for future years.

RELACIONADO: Las 5 principales deducciones fiscales para los individuos

Créditos fiscales parcialmente reembolsables

Certain tax credits are considered partially refundable because they fit into both categories. In these cases, only a portion of the tax credit can be refunded to you. This type of credit is a bit more complicated — it can be subtracted from the amount of taxes owed and (to an extent) applied to increase the tax refund.

El Crédito Fiscal para la Oportunidad Americana (AOTC) es un ejemplo de crédito parcialmente reembolsable. La cuantía máxima del crédito es de $2.500 por estudiante que cumpla los requisitos, al año. Si el crédito reduce su deuda tributaria a cero, puede recibir hasta 40% del importe restante del crédito (hasta $1.000) como devolución de impuestos.

Some examples of partially refundable tax credits include:

• American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC): This credit was designed to help students and their families manage the ever increasing cost of higher education. After the credit reduces the amount of taxes you owe to zero, you can get a refund of up to 40% of the remaining amount (and up to a maximum of $1,000 per credit). This makes it a very valuable credit for college students.

RELACIONADO: Impuestos y educación

How To Know If You’re Eligible For A Tax Credit

Eligibility for tax credits is defined on a case-by-case basis, since each federal tax credit comes with its own set of rules and exclusions. Some of the most popular tax credits for low-income taxpayers, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), has a substantial amount of rules attached to it, so income is only the first of many hurdles you’ll have to jump through in order to qualify for a federal tax credit.

Conclusión

Tanto si un crédito fiscal es reembolsable como si no lo es, merece la pena asegurarse de que solicita todos los créditos a los que tiene derecho. Además, como las normas y los importes de los créditos fiscales cambian cada año, es importante investigar bien antes de solicitarlos. preparación de la declaración de la renta.

 

Créditos fiscales reembolsables	Nonrefundable Tax Credits	Créditos fiscales parcialmente reembolsables
Can reduce your liability below zero.	Cannot reduce your liability below zero.	Can reduce your liability below zero, but only a portion of its value is refundable.

 

Para más información sobre los créditos fiscales federales, consulte IRS Publication 17 (Guía fiscal para particulares).

Refundable Tax Credits vs. Non-Refundable Tax Credits: FAQ

1. What is a tax credit?

Tax  credits are a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the amount of taxes you owe to the government (AKA your tax liability). That means that each dollar in a tax credit is one less dollar you have to pay on taxes, full stop.

2. What’s the difference between refundable and non-refundable tax credits?

With a refundable tax credit, if the credit amount exceeds your total tax liability, that means the excess part is refunded to you; the implication is that you can even receive money back even if you have zero tax liability. On the other hand, for a non-refundable tax credit, if the credit amount exceeds your tax liability, that excess is forfeited since the credit can’t reduce your liability below zero; in other words, you can’t get the unused portion of the credit.

3. What are the names of some refundable tax credits?

Some of the most requested refundable tax credits are the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the Child Tax Credit (this one’s only partially refundable), and the Premium Tax Credit.

4. How do I know if a tax credit is refundable or non-refundable?

The IRS differentiates between refundable and non-refundable credits in their publications, forms, and website. A tax professional or your tax preparation software of choice should also be able to identify each type of credit for you.

5. Which type of tax credit should I claim first when filing my taxes?

Both types of credits are valuable since both of them lower your tax liability, but refundable tax credits have the added benefit of potentially resulting in a refund for you. Regardless, it’s important that you claim all credits for which you qualify in order to maximize your tax benefits.

6. Do tax credits have an expiration date?

While some credits expire if not used in the current tax year, others (mostly non-refundable credits) can be carried either forward to future tax years and even back to prior years, but it mostly depends on what credit you’re referring to.

---