An estimated 39 million American families are set to receive monthly payments from the IRS beginning on July 15 as part of the expanded child tax credits.
The payments are part of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Eligible families will receive up to $300 per month for each child under the age of 6, and $250 per month for each child between the ages of 6 and 17, according to the IRS.
To make sure families are aware of the child tax credit expansion and how to access the benefits, the White House has named Monday Child Tax Credit Awareness Day. The day is “to ensure parents know about the American Rescue Plan’s historic expansion of the Child Tax Credit and how it will benefit their families.”
With the first batch of child tax credit payments set to come out soon, the IRS last week launched a new tool to help low-income families sign up for the monthly payments.
The free online tool allows people who normally don’t file income taxes — or didn’t for 2019 or 2020 — to provide the federal tax agency with the basic information required to calculate and issue the child tax credits, according to the IRS’s website.
More information about the tax credits can be found at IRS.gov/childtaxcredit2021.