Refundable and Nonrefundable Tax Credits

Which tax credits are refundable and which tax credits are nonrefundable?

There are two types of tax credits:

• refundable tax credits and
• nonrefundable tax credits.

Below is a chart that shows which tax credits are refundable and which tax credits are nonrefundable.

Tax credits	Refundable or nonrefundable
Earned income credit (EIC)	refundable (Schedule EIC or amend disallowance with Form 8862)
Child and dependent care tax credit	nonrefundable (Form 2441 or Schedule 2)
Child tax credit	nonrefundable
Additional child tax credit	refundable (Form 8812)
Education tax credits (Hope and Lifetime learning credits)	nonrefundable (Form 8863)
Retirement savings contribution credit (Savers credit)	nonrefundable (Form 8880)
Residential Energy credit	nonrefundable (Form5695)
Adoption credit, credit for the elderly or the disabled, credit for mortgage interest, foreign tax credit	nonrefundable