The United States' child tax credit payments will be distributed starting on July 15, but despite many parents looking forward to receiving the financial support, some are turned away from the prospect and want to opt-out.
Qualified families will start receiving their money relief under the country's coronavirus relief package. The payments will be given out in July and will be distributed in a monthly scheme, similar to the stimulus checks.
Child Tax Credit Payment
The amount of money that families will receive is based on the number of children that they have, their age range, and their income. Another requirement for eligibility is that joint filers should have an adjusted gross income of less than $150,000 while single filers should have less than $75,000.
The U.S. government will hand out monthly payments worth $300 to children under the age of six years. And for children who are between six and 17 years old, the child tax credit payment amounts to $250 per month.
However, despite the assistance that the child tax credit payment can provide families, some parents are hesitant to receive it primarily due to it not being a stimulus payment. Tax experts have warned families about the matter, arguing it is an advance on a person's increased child tax credit that they can claim on their 2021 taxes.
The payment represents half of the money as a monthly advance and the other half would be given out once residents file their taxes next year, KHOU reported.
The payments are part of President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law in March. The child tax credit has been in existence since 1997 in another form. Over the years, lawmakers have increased the amount included in the payment and were recently boosted again by the legislation.
American officials have decided to make the child tax credit monthly payments available until December 15, 2021. The total amount that parents can receive for each child under the age of six years will be $3,600; and for children between six to 17 years, it would be $3,000.
Financial Support for Parents
Michael Jamison, president of OnTarget CPA, said U.S. officials approved the payments as a way to support parents financially amid the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. He said lawmakers believe the relief program offset costs that come with having children and that it would provide "some level of support for children throughout the year," Indy Star reported.
A children's nanny in Chicago said she was relieved to hear that the child tax credit payments would provide some sort of financial support to struggling families nationwide. She was hopeful that the money would be put to good use and help parents pay for necessities or past due bills.
On Tuesday, Senator Dick Durbin and Congresswoman Robin Kelly and Marie Newman stood with families and advocates at Pulaski Park to remind residents of the incoming payments. They noted that the payments would be one of the real support that comes from the government, ABC7 Chicago reported.
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