Will I be eligible for the Child Tax Credit?

[VivaciousJewelz]

Okay, so I'm filling out a new W-4 2009 Form for when my baby is born on July 23. Our situation is that I work (my DH does not) and we will only have 1 baby on 7/23)

Here's what I have so far.

A- Enter 1 for yourself
B- Enter 1 if (you are married, have only one job, and spouse does not work)
C- Enter 1 for your spouse
D- Enter number of dependents (1)

(so, so far I have 4 exemptions)

On line "G" it says "Child Tax Credit- In your total income will be less than $61,000 (91,000 if married), enter "2" for each eligible child.

My income is $40,000. So do I enter "2" on line G to make my total deductions 6 or do I just stick with 4? I don't want to OWE the government money next year.

Also, if I DO claim the child tax credit, does that mean I will have to itemize deductions on my tax return next year?

[Cynthiabutterfly]

You don't have to itemize to get the child tax credit. What you put on the w-4 is really up to you- you can put 4, 6 or 0 depending on how much you want taken out of your check. The more deductions you put, the less money they take- if you put 0, they'll take out the max, and if you put 6, they may take little or nothing.

Personally, I prefer to keep it as close to zero as possible- that way I am not loaning the government my money until April 16.