Millions of American parents are expected to receive the second round of child tax credit payments, which are set to be deposited by the U.S. government on Friday.
The second round of payments from the enhanced federal Child Tax Credit are slated to arrive on Aug. 13. While parents typically do not need to do anything to receive the payments, some may be required to take action to ensure that they are eligible to receive the money.
There are several ways to check whether a household is eligible to receive up to $300 per child.
Have you received a letter from the IRS?
An estimate by the Biden administration suggested that 97% of working families in the United States are eligible to receive the payments, according to the government's July fact sheet. Generally, qualified recipients should receive at least one letter from the IRS stating their eligibility and the total amount of payments they are set to receive.
The IRS has sent out two letters. The first told recipients that they are eligible for the payments. The second included a rough estimate of the recipient's monthly advance payments. Eligible families do not need to do anything to receive the letters.
Have you checked the IRS portals?
The IRS has launched several online tools to help Americans get their child tax credit payments. The Advance Child Tax Credit Eligibility Assistant is an interactive tool that allows families to check whether they qualify for the payments by answering a few brief questions.
Users can also go to the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, which allows them to verify whether the family qualifies for the payments. This online tool also allows users to opt out of receiving the payments in 2021.
Opting out of this year's monthly payments means that instead of receiving $300 per child, families can wait until filing a 2021 tax return in 2022 to receive a lump sum of $3,600. For the September payments, users can still opt out until Aug. 30.
The nonfiler portal lets users provide the IRS with basic information about themselves and their dependents. This tool was designed for use by people who aren't normally required to file a tax return, such as low-income households.
The child tax credit was expanded by the Biden administration's American Rescue Plan as part of an effort to help support struggling families amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The amount was increased from $2,000 per child to $3,600 per child under 6 and $3,000 per child between 6 and 17.
The first round of payments, which was sent out beginning July 15, helped decrease the percentage of American families with children who reported not having enough to eat, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, as reported by POLITICO.
Before the first round, 11% of American households with children said they often did not have enough to eat. After the first round was sent out, the figures dropped to just over 8%.
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