Child Tax Credit: The Rules Keep Changing But It's Still Valuable

If you’re a parent, you may be confused about the rules for claiming the Child Tax Credit (CTC). The rules and credit amounts have changed significantly over the last six years. This tax break became more generous in 2018 than it was under prior law — and it became even better in 2021 for eligible parents. Even though the enhancements that were available for 2021 have expired, the CTC is still valuable for parents. Here are the current rules. For tax years 2022 and 2023, the CTC applies to taxpayers with children under the age of 17 (who meet CTC requirements to be ‘’qualifying children’’). A $500 credit for other dependents is available for dependents other than qualifying children. CTC amount The CTC is currently $2,000 for each...

Advance Child Tax Credit Payments Begin July 15th

Eligible parents will soon begin receiving payments from the federal government. The IRS announced that the 2021 advance child tax credit (CTC) payments, which were created in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), will begin being made on July 15, 2021. How have child tax credits changed? The ARPA temporarily expanded and made CTCs refundable for 2021. The law increased the maximum CTC — for 2021 only — to $3,600 for each qualifying child under age 6 and to $3,000 per child for children ages 6 to 17, provided their parents’ income is below a certain threshold. Advance payments will receive up to $300 monthly for each child under 6, and up to $250 monthly for each child 6 and older. The increased credit amount will be reduced...

Eligible Americans to Receive Direct Payments

The American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law on March 11, provides a variety of tax and financial relief to help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the many initiatives are direct payments that will be made to eligible individuals. And parents under certain income thresholds will also receive additional payments in the coming months through a greatly revised Child Tax Credit. Here are some answers to questions about these payments. What are the two types of payments?  Under the new law, eligible individuals will receive advance direct payments of a tax credit. The law calls these payments “recovery rebates.” The law also includes advance Child Tax Credit payments to eligible parents later this year. How much are the recovery rebates? An eligible individual is allowed a 2021...

Changes to the Child Tax Credit

If you’re a parent, or if you’re planning on having children, you know that it’s expensive to pay for their food, clothes, activities and education. Fortunately, TCJA made changes to the Child Tax Credit, which is available for taxpayers with children under the age of 17, as well as a dependent credit for older children. Recent tax law changes Changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) make the child tax credit more valuable and allow more taxpayers to be able to benefit from it. These changes apply through 2025. Prior law: Before the TCJA kicked in for the 2018 tax year, the child tax credit was $1,000 per qualifying child. But it was reduced for married couples filing jointly by $50 for every $1,000 (or...