SAN ANTONIO – There’s been another update from the Internal Revenue Service on the child tax credit payments that are scheduled to go out in July.
If you qualify for the child tax credit but do not want to receive the advance payments, the IRS website now has a portal where you can opt out. The portal can be found here.
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What is the advance child tax credit?
The advance monthly payments will be sent to qualifying families and will add up to 50% of the child tax credit a family is expected to receive in 2021. Taxpayers will be able to claim the other half when they file their 2021 tax returns.
The payments will be estimated from information in eligible taxpayers’ 2020 tax returns. 2019 tax returns will be used to determine payments if a family’s 2020 taxes have not yet been filed.
These payments are scheduled to start July 15 according to the American Rescue Plan Act.
Families claiming the child tax credit for the 2021 tax year will receive up to $3,000 for each qualifying child ages 6-17 and $3,600 for children under age 6. The child tax credit was previously $2,000 for qualifying children under age 17.
Families will receive up to $300 a month from July to December for each qualifying child under age 6, for a total of $1,800. The other $1,800 will be included in a family’s 2021 taxes. Families with children ages 6-17 will get up to $250 a month.
The credit will include children who turn 17-years-old in 2021 and is fully refundable, meaning taxpayers who don’t owe income tax or have any earned income can still benefit from the child tax credit.
The IRS has also set up a tool that allows people who aren’t required to file tax returns to provide information if they believe they will qualify for the child tax credit. The sign-up tool can be found here. People who have a main home in the United States for more than half of the year may also use the tool.
According to the IRS, tax credits will be reduced for families with incomes over $150,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return and qualifying widows or widowers, $112,500 for heads of household, and $75,000 for all other taxpayers.
Did you have a baby in 2021?
Many parents are wondering if they will be eligible to receive the advance child tax credit payments for their children who have been born this year and weren’t on their previous year’s tax returns.
The answer, according to the IRS, is yes but it’s still not clear when.
The IRS website says a child tax credit update portal will be available “later this year” and will allow families to update the number of qualifying children they plan to claim for 2021.
More details will be provided regarding the child tax credit update portal once the portal is available, according to the IRS.