{"id":523,"date":"2021-11-12T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"\/refundable-vs-non-refundable-tax-credits"},"modified":"2025-03-18T16:14:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T23:14:27","slug":"creditos-fiscales-reembolsables-y-no-reembolsables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/refundable-tax-credits\/","title":{"rendered":"Cr\u00e9ditos fiscales reembolsables frente a cr\u00e9ditos fiscales no reembolsables"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 640px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-523-1\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/refund_vs_no_refundable.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/refund_vs_no_refundable.mp4\">https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/refund_vs_no_refundable.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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).<\/p>\n<p>So, credits 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?<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s dive in!<\/p>\n<p>RELACIONADO:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/articles\/tax-credits-for-families\/\"> Cr\u00e9ditos fiscales para familias con hijos y personas a cargo<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>What Are Tax Credits?<\/h2>\n<p>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\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n<h4>What\u2019s The Difference Between A Tax Credit And A Deduction?<\/h4>\n<p>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\u2019s look at how with an example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">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\u2019s say your tax rate is 18% for your entire taxable income; that means your tax liability would be $7,200.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Now imagine you have a taxable income of $50,000 but you\u2019re 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.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Reducing Your Tax Bill with Refundable Tax Credits or Non-Refundable Tax Credits<\/h3>\n<p>When we say that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/articles\/que-es-un-credito-fiscal\/\">cr\u00e9ditos fiscales<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n<p>Una <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/articles\/deducciones-fiscales\/\">deducci\u00f3n fiscal<\/a>por otra parte, reduce su <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/articles\/ingresos-imponibles-y-no-imponibles\/\">ingresos sujetos a impuestos<\/a> and is equal to the percentage of your marginal tax bracket \u2014 for example, if you\u2019re in the 10% tax bracket, a $500 tax deduction will save you $50 in taxes (because 0.25 \u00d7 $500 = $50).<\/p>\n<p>Now you can see why a tax credit is more valuable than a dollar-equivalent tax deduction.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>However, some tax credits are refundable and can actually increase your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/articles\/sigue-esperando-la-devolucion-de-sus-impuestos\/\">reembolso de impuestos<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-11621\" src=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-tara-winstead-71114891-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"refundable-tax-credits\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-tara-winstead-71114891-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-tara-winstead-71114891-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-tara-winstead-71114891-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-tara-winstead-71114891-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-tara-winstead-71114891-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-tara-winstead-71114891-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-tara-winstead-71114891-640x426.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>RELACIONADO:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/articles\/el-credito-fiscal-ampliado-por-hijos\/\"> El Cr\u00e9dito Fiscal por Hijos expandido<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Cr\u00e9ditos fiscales reembolsables<\/h2>\n<p>Los cr\u00e9ditos reembolsables son el tipo de cr\u00e9dito fiscal m\u00e1s vers\u00e1til. Estos cr\u00e9ditos se tratan igual que los pagos de impuestos que usted hace al IRS, tales como <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/articles\/conceptos-basicos-de-la-retencion-a-cuenta\/\">impuestos sobre la renta retenidos<\/a> from your paycheck or estimated tax payments that you make throughout the year.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, a refundable credit is subtracted from the amount of taxes you owe (after deductions), similar to the way the tax withheld from your paycheck is subtracted from your total yearly tax liability.<\/p>\n<p>Un cr\u00e9dito fiscal reembolsable es especialmente ventajoso porque puede reducir su deuda tributaria por debajo de cero. Si el importe de un cr\u00e9dito fiscal reembolsable es superior al importe de los impuestos adeudados, la diferencia se le devolver\u00e1 como un <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/articles\/obtener-la-devolucion-de-impuestos\/\">reembolso de impuestos<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you are already owed a tax refund, the refundable credit will be added to increase the amount of your refund.<\/p>\n<p>He aqu\u00ed algunos ejemplos de cr\u00e9ditos fiscales reembolsables:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cr\u00e9dito fiscal adicional por hijos:<\/b> 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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/articles\/credito-fiscal-por-ingresos-del-trabajo-eitc\/\"><b>Cr\u00e9dito Fiscal por Ingresos Ganados (EITC)<\/b><\/a><b>:<\/b> 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\u2019t need children to qualify, contrary to popular belief, but having children does have the potential for giving you a higher credit amount.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Health Coverage Tax Credit: <\/b>With the HCTC, you could have up to 72.5% of qualified health insurance premiums paid for (if you or your family are eligible).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Small Business Health Care Tax Credit: <\/b>This is a credit worth up to 50% of the costs of your employees\u2019 premiums (or 35% for non-profit employers). It\u2019s meant for \u201cemployers that pay average wages of less than an inflation-adjusted amount a year per full-time equivalent\u201d according to the IRS.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-11620\" src=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-pixabay-5342291-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"refundable-tax-credits\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-pixabay-5342291-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-pixabay-5342291-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-pixabay-5342291-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-pixabay-5342291-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-pixabay-5342291-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-pixabay-5342291-16x12.jpg 16w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>RELACIONADO:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/articles\/5-deducciones-fiscales-mas-importantes\/\"> Las 5 principales deducciones fiscales para los individuos<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><b>Cr\u00e9ditos fiscales no reembolsables<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Nonrefundable credits are another great way to decrease your tax bill. A nonrefundable credit is subtracted from your income tax liability, up to the total amount you owe.<\/p>\n<p>But unlike a refundable tax credit, a nonrefundable credit cannot reduce your tax balance beyond zero. Any unused portion of a nonrefundable tax credit will expire in the year the credit is claimed and cannot be carried over.<\/p>\n<p>Algunos ejemplos de cr\u00e9ditos fiscales no reembolsables son:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Adoption Tax Credit: <\/b>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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cr\u00e9dito fiscal por hijos: <\/b>As we mentioned in the previous section, only the \u201cadditional child\u201d 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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Foreign Tax Credit: <\/b>This is a tax credit that you can apply for if a foreign country imposes taxes on you. It\u2019s meant to relieve your tax burden when your income is taxed by both a foreign country and the U.S.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Electric Vehicle Tax Credit: <\/b>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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Cr\u00e9ditos fiscales parcialmente reembolsables<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>aThis type of credit is a bit more complicated \u2014 it can be subtracted from the amount of taxes owed and (to an extent) applied to increase the tax refund.<\/p>\n<p>El <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/articles\/beneficios-fiscales-educacion\/\">Cr\u00e9dito Fiscal para la Oportunidad Americana (AOTC)<\/a> es un ejemplo de cr\u00e9dito parcialmente reembolsable. La cuant\u00eda m\u00e1xima del cr\u00e9dito es de $2.500 por estudiante que cumpla los requisitos, al a\u00f1o. Si el cr\u00e9dito reduce su deuda tributaria a cero, puede recibir hasta 40% del importe restante del cr\u00e9dito (hasta $1.000) como devoluci\u00f3n de impuestos.<\/p>\n<p>Some examples of partially refundable tax credits include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC): <\/b>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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11619 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5899166-scaled-e1741128209176-1024x878.jpg\" alt=\"refundable-tax-credits\" width=\"1024\" height=\"878\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5899166-scaled-e1741128209176-1024x878.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5899166-scaled-e1741128209176-300x257.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5899166-scaled-e1741128209176-768x658.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5899166-scaled-e1741128209176-1536x1316.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5899166-scaled-e1741128209176-14x12.jpg 14w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5899166-scaled-e1741128209176.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>RELACIONADO:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/articles\/impuestos-y-educacion\/\"> Impuestos y educaci\u00f3n<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>How To Know If You\u2019re Eligible For A Tax Credit<\/h2>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019ll have to jump through in order to qualify for a federal tax credit.<\/p>\n<h2><b>The Final Word on Refundable vs. Non-Refundable Tax Credits&#8230;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Whether or not a tax credit is refundable, it is worth the effort to make sure you are claiming every credit that you\u2019re eligible for.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, since the rules and amounts for tax credits change every year, it is important to do the proper research before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/articles\/consejos-para-preparar-la-declaracion-de-la-renta-2\/\">preparaci\u00f3n de la declaraci\u00f3n de la renta<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11618 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2025-03-04-142948-1024x233.png\" alt=\"refundable-tax-credits\" width=\"591\" height=\"135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2025-03-04-142948-1024x233.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2025-03-04-142948-300x68.png 300w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2025-03-04-142948-768x175.png 768w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2025-03-04-142948-18x4.png 18w, https:\/\/www.irs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2025-03-04-142948.png 1224w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 591px) 100vw, 591px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Para m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n sobre los cr\u00e9ditos fiscales federales, consulte<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/pub\/irs-pdf\/p17.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> IRS Publication 17 (Gu\u00eda fiscal para particulares)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Refundable Tax Credits vs. Non-Refundable Tax Credits: FAQ<\/h2>\n<p><b> 1. What is a tax credit?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Tax\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n<p><b>2. What\u2019s the difference between refundable and non-refundable tax credits?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>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\u2019t reduce your liability below zero; in other words, you can\u2019t get the unused portion of the credit.<\/p>\n<p><b>3. What are the names of some refundable tax credits?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Some of the most requested refundable tax credits are the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the Child Tax Credit (this one\u2019s only partially refundable), and the Premium Tax Credit.<\/p>\n<p><b>4. How do I know if a tax credit is refundable or non-refundable?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><b>5. Which type of tax credit should I claim first when filing my taxes?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s important that you claim all credits for which you qualify in order to maximize your tax benefits.<\/p>\n<p><b>6. Do tax credits have an expiration date?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>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\u2019re referring to.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":10780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,37,153,34,31,38,13,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tax-preparation","category-paying-taxes","category-tax-advice-videos","category-tax-credits","category-tax-deductions","category-tax-refunds","category-tax-resources","category-tax-strategies"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12400,"href":"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523\/revisions\/12400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irs.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}