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7/15/2021

Treasury and IRS Announce Families of Nearly 60 Million Children Receive $15 Billion Dollars in First Payments of Expa…

Treasury and IRS Announce Families of Nearly 60 Million
Children Receive $15 Billion Dollars in First Payments of
Expanded and Newly Advanceable Child Tax Credit
July 15, 2021

Treasury and the IRS also release state-by-state data showing historic, nationwide relief for
America’s families
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service
announced today that roughly $15 billion dollars were paid to families that include nearly 60
million eligible children in the first monthly payment of the expanded and newlyadvanceable Child Tax Credit from the American Rescue Plan passed in March. Eligible
families received a payment of up to $300 per month for each child under age 6 and up to
$250 per month for each child age 6 to 17.
“For the first time in our nation's history, American working families are receiving monthly tax
relief payments to help pay for essentials like doctor’s visits, school supplies, and groceries,”
said Secretary Janet L. Yellen. “This major middle-class tax relief and step in reducing child
poverty is a remarkable economic victory for America – and also a moral one.”
The American Rescue Plan expanded the Child Tax Credit for 2021 to get more help to more
families. The credit increased from $2,000 per child in 2020 to $3,600 for each child under age
6. For each child ages 6 to 16, it’s increased from $2,000 to $3,000. It also makes 17-year-olds
eligible for the $3,000 credit. To get money to families sooner, the IRS is sending out half of
the 2021 Child Tax Credit this year in monthly payments.
Experts have projected the American Rescue Plan will li more than five million children out
of poverty this year, cutting child poverty by more than half – and the expanded Child Tax
Credit is the single largest contributor to this historic reduction. Prior to the American Rescue
Plan, lower-income families o en received a smaller Child Tax Credit than families with
higher earnings because the tax credit was only partially refundable.
Treasury estimates that families containing more than 26 million children who would
have received less than the full Child Tax Credit under the previous rules because their
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incomes were too low will now receive the full, expanded credit.
For a married couple earning a combined $60,000 per year and two children under six,
their Child Tax Credit will equal $7,200, and this year’s expansion means an additional
$3,200 per year in tax relief.
For a married couple earning a combined $24,000 per year and two children under six,
they’ll get a total credit of $7,200 – this means that because of the changes in the
American Rescue Plan their credit increased by $4,400. Not only did the amount of the
credit increase, but prior to the American Rescue Plain the full credit was not available to
them because it was not refundable.
Taxpayers who filed an income tax return in either 2019 or 2020 and who claimed an eligible
child, or who signed up to get an Economic Impact Payment and claimed an eligible child
last year, generally do not need to take any action to receive their payments. Roughly 86% of
the families who received payments today did so by direct deposit, and the remainder will
receive checks in the mail. These payments will continue to be made on the 15th of each
month (unless the 15th falls on a weekend or holiday, in which case the payment will be
made the preceding business day).
Low-income families with children are eligible for this crucial tax relief – including those who
don’t make enough money to be required to file Federal income taxes. This first set of
payment recipients automatically included families that signed up for Economic Impact
Payments, also known as stimulus checks, last year, even if they do not normally file a tax
return because their income is below the federal filing requirement. Treasury estimates that
the families containing more than 720,000 children who otherwise wouldn’t have received a
Child Tax Credit will receive payments starting this month because they signed up for
Economic Income Payments last year. Eligible families that did not sign-up in time to receive
their Child Tax Credit in this first round of payments can receive increased monthly payments
to catch-up for previous months a er they sign up.
Since President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan in March, the White House has led a
cross-agency e ort to ensure the expanded Child Tax Credit reaches the families who need it
most. Within months, the IRS launched a Non-filer Sign-up Tool and published step-by-step
guides in multiple languages. Since then, the White House, Treasury and the IRS have
worked to direct people to the tool in collaboration with advocacy groups, public figures and
through awareness e orts like launching childtaxcredit.gov and hosting weekend IRS events
in 12 cities where data showed large pockets of children in households that don’t normally
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file a tax return. We will continue to host events and announce additional private sector and
non-profit partnership e orts in the coming weeks.
For additional information for taxpayers on how they can access the Child Tax Credit, visit the
Advance Child Tax Credit Payments in 2021 page and see Frequently Asked Questions here.

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