Families have one last chance to profit from one of the most unusual initiatives made by the federal government in reaction to the financial effect of the coronavirus pandemic if they haven't already.
Time is running out for everyone who hasn't yet begun receiving the monthly Child Tax Credit stimulus checks in 2021 for whatever reason. As a reminder, President Joe Biden signed a hefty $1.9 trillion stimulus bill earlier this year that not only financed a third stimulus check.
It also extended the Child Tax Credit for a limited time. When parents of qualifying children submit their federal tax returns, that benefit is usually given out as a tax credit. However, due to the COVID-19 crisis, legislators devised a new way to structure a temporary increase.
Crucial deadline to receive stimulus check
This year, half of the increase was paid out as an advance, spread out across six payments from July to December. For a number of reasons, some eligible families have yet to receive any of the six stimulus checks, as per BGR.
If you're part of that category, here's what you need to do to obtain your advance payment from the IRS by the end of 2021. Before November 15, go to GetCTC.org and sign up for the increased tax credit. The Treasury Department and Code for America collaborated to create that site for families who have children who are eligible but have not yet received checks.
Those families who rush to register will get the money all at once, rather than in six monthly installments as everyone else did. Furthermore, the funds will be sent to these last-minute applicants as early as December.
Who may receive $1,800 stimulus check in December?
Those who are qualified but have not yet received money can still sign up for the Expanded Child Tax Credits, which are available through December, and provide families with children with an extra $300/month for children under the age of 6 and $250/month for children ages 6-17.
According to WBFF Baltimore, those who notify the IRS by November 15 that they are eligible but have not received payments because they don't normally file a tax return due to their income will be eligible for a one-time payment in December ranging from $1,500 to $1,800 per child, which equals the first half of the Expanded Child Tax Credit payments.
Those who need to sign up can do so by visiting the IRS's Child Tax Credit Update Portal. Parents who have already received monthly stimulus payments will receive the second half of their credit when submitting their 2021 taxes in the new year.
Americans abroad received stimulus payments
In terms of any additional funds, the Biden administration hopes to extend the enhanced Child Tax Credits for at least another year as part of the yet-to-be-passed Build Back Better plan. While the credits were initially intended to be extended until 2025, they were lowered to a one-year extension until 2022 in order to minimize the bill's cost and appeal to more moderate Democrats.
According to federal records, thousands of Americans residing overseas got stimulus checks during the COVID-19 outbreak. While this may seem at odds with the concept of "stimulus" for the US economy, tax policy experts say Congress had a valid basis for sending monies overseas.
The IRS figures indicated that the agency distributed more than 3.7 million payments totaling $5.5 billion to those living outside the 50 states and Washington, DC. Through June 3, 2021, the data reflect three rounds of pandemic-era payments. Further payments may have been paid since then.
The data includes citizens of the United States living abroad, military personnel stationed abroad, and US territories such as Puerto Rico residents. While US territories aren't technically "overseas" in the same sense as foreign nations, the IRS doesn't keep track of them separately.
According to the US Department of State, around 9 million Americans live abroad. The State Department is in charge of foreign affairs. Because of Congress' broad qualifying criteria, it's only reasonable that many of them will get stimulus checks. The offshore payments are likewise minor compared to the total, accounting for only 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent of the $803 billion and $472 million in payments distributed across three rounds of funding, respectively, as per CNBC.
