Monthly child tax credit payments for parents will hit bank accounts this week
Monthly child tax credit payments will start going out to millions of eligible families on Thursday.
The payments will be issued monthly through the end of 2021. and recipients will get a tax break next year. This extra infusion of cash aimed at helping lower-income families was approved in the $1.9 trillion stimulus package President Joe Biden signed into law back in March.
Who is eligible?
The maximum credit is available to taxpayers with an income of $75,000 or less for singles, $112,500 or less for heads of household and $150,000 or less for married couples who file a joint tax return.
Those who make more than that will see lower payments. You can check if you're eligible here.
How much will you get?
The maximum child tax credit in 2021 is $3,600 for each child under the age of 6 and $3,000 per child between the ages of 6 and 17.
Parents will get half their credit — up to $300 a month for children under 6 and $250 for kids ages 6-17 — on the 15th of each month (except it'll come on the 13th in August) through the end of 2021. And they'll get the other half when they file their 2021 taxes next year.
Before this year, the maximum child tax credit was $2,000 for each child under 17.
For those who make more than the aforementioned thresholds for the maximum credits, their payment is reduced by $50 for every extra $1,000 you made a year, the IRS explains.
How will you get the money?
The majority of people who are eligible for the credit won't have to do a thing to get the money. Those who have filed their 2020 or 2019 tax returns will see the money deposited directly into their bank accounts or they'll receive a check in the mail monthly.
And those who don't file taxes but previously used the non-filer portal to register for stimulus checks will also be sent payments directly.
Those who haven't filed tax returns in 2020 or 2019 or didn't use the non-filer tool for the stimulus checks must sign up for the payments. You can do that on the IRS portal here.
How many Minnesotans will get the credit?
Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans are expected to benefit from this program. In 2018, about 678,000 Minnesota residents claimed child tax credits, the Minnesota Department of Revenue (DOR) told Bring Me The News.
The DOR roughly estimates that, proportionally based on federal figures, Minnesotans will receive about $1.89 billion in additional credits thanks to this program.
