2021 Child Tax Credit: Here’s who will get up to $1,800 per child in cash
(CBS) — About 36 million American families on July 15 will start receiving monthly checks from the IRS, as part of the expanded Child Tax Credit.
Eligible families will receive up to $1,800 in cash through December — however, the tax credit has a complication that may prompt some families to opt out.
The enhanced Child Tax Credit (CTC) was signed into law by President Joe Biden as part of the American Rescue Plan. The effort expands the benefit from a $2,000 credit, taken annually when you file your taxes, to up to $3,600 per child, with half the amount divided into six payments to be paid out in cash, on a monthly basis, from July through December, and the rest claimed on your 2021 tax return.
The Biden administration has proposed extending the monthly payments for five more years, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told “CBS This Morning” on Monday.
“He thinks this is a central benefit that will help families, help get women back to work,” Psaki said, noting that more that a million women have left the workforce during the pandemic.
The effort has some similarities to the three rounds of stimulus checks that have been distributed by the IRS to help people weather the pandemic. For one, the enhanced CTC and the stimulus checks are only available to eligible lower- and middle-class families, with upper-income households essentially shut out of the benefit. And secondly, the IRS will deposit the payments directly into bank accounts.
But there is one major difference between the stimulus checks and the enhanced CTC in how the IRS treats overpayment. With the stimulus checks, recipients didn’t have to repay the IRS if they received more than they were entitled. That’s not the case with the enhanced Child Tax Credit.
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