Winsted Social Services offers information on Child Tax Credit

The Register Citizen - 7/15/2021

Jul. 14—WINSTED — Social Services Director Katie Vail sent a reminder this week to residents about the important changes to the Child Tax Credit as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.

The changes in the program are designed to help many families get advance payments of the credit starting this summer, Vail said. The IRS will pay half the total credit amount in advance monthly payments beginning July 15. The other half of this benefit will be claimed when the 2021 income tax return is filed in early 2022.

For more information on the Advance Child Tax Credit Payments for eligibility and to manage payments.

According to Vail, for Tax Year 2021, families claiming the Child Tax Credit will receive up to $3K per qualifying child between the ages of 6 and 17 at the end of 2021. They will receive $3,600 per qualifying child under age 6 at the end of 2021.

Under the prior law, the amount of the Child Tax Credit was up to $2,000 per qualifying child under the age of 17 at the end of the year. These changes to the Child Tax Credit apply to tax year 2021 only. The increased amounts are reduced or phased out, for incomes over $150K for married taxpayers filing a joint return and qualifying widows or widowers, $112,500 for heads of household, and $75K for all other taxpayers.

To qualify for advance Child Tax Credit payments, you — and your spouse, if you filed a joint return — must have:

Filed a 2019 or 2020 tax return and claimed the Child Tax Credit on the return; or

Given us your information in 2020 to receive the Economic Impact Payment using the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool; have a main home in the United States for more than half the year or file a joint return with a spouse who has a main home in the United States for more than half the year; a qualifying child who is under age 18 at the end of 2021 and who has a valid Social Security number; and made less than certain income limits.

The IRS will use information provided earlier to determine if you qualify and automatically enroll you for advance payments. You do not need to take any additional action to get advance payments.

Be advised that non-filers who are not required to file a tax return and therefore, have not provided the IRS with the required information already will need to provide some basic information to the IRS in order to receive this Child Tax Credit.

While the IRS said most eligible families won't need to do anything to get this monthly payment because they have a 2019 or 2020 tax return filed, others — mainly those with lower incomes, those who are homeless or other underserved groups — may need to take the extra step of using the Non-filer tool because they are not required to file a return.

Note that the the tool included in the link above is available on IRS.gov. Using that, or filing a tax return, are the only ways to get the Advance Child Tax Credit. Residents are urged to be on the lookout for scams using email, phone calls or texts related to the payments.

Remember, the IRS never sends unsolicited electronic communications asking anyone to open attachments or visit a non-governmental web site.

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