The Child Tax Credit, part of the American Rescue Plan, provides the largest Child Tax Credit to most working families.
If you have filed tax returns for 2019 or 2020 or signed up with the Non-Filer tool last year to receive a stimulus check from the Internal Revenue Service, you will automatically get the monthly Child Tax Credit.
Starting July 15, payments will automatically be made monthly at $250 per child between 6-17 years old or $300 per child under 6 years old. All working families will get the full credit if they make up to $150,000 for a couple or $112,500 for a family with a single parent head of household. Payments will continue until Dec. 31, 2021.
Low-income families with children are eligible for this crucial tax relief – including those who have not made enough money to be required to file taxes or those who have not filed taxes in a while.
If you have not already signed up or have not filed taxes in a while, you can still sign up to get the Child Tax Credit without losing your benefits. You are also eligible to apply for the Recovery Rebate Credit, also known as stimulus payments, as part of this process. These payments do not count as income for any family. So, signing up will not affect your eligibility for other federal benefits like SSI, SNAP, TANF, and WIC.
If you have at least one qualifying child and earned less than $24,800 as a married couple, $18,650 as a Head of Household, or $12,400 as a single filer, you can use the IRS Non-filer Sign-up Tool to get the Child Tax Credit and receive missing stimulus payments.
Resources and Helpful Links:
- ChildTaxCredit.gov — This is a one-stop-shop for information about the Child Tax Credit (CTC).
- Q&A About the Advance Child Tax Credit Payments
- IRS Non-Filer Tool — The IRS portal allows people who are not automatically enrolled in the CTC to sign up for the CTC and any economic impact payments they may have missed, even if they are not applying for the CTC. Someone not filing for CTC can still file just for the economic impact payments through the non-filer sign-up tool.
- 2021 Child Tax Credit Sign Up Guide for Non-filers