03/13/2021
The 2021 Revised Child Tax Credit:
It’s fully refundable. What does that mean? Right now, if taxpayers’ credit exceeds their taxes owed, they only can get up to $1,400 as a refund. Under the new rules, they could receive the full $3,000 or $3,600 per child, depending on the child’s age.
You don’t have to be employed to get it. The new provision allows households with no income to claim the credit. This is a major change, as previous rules limited the credit to those earning at least $2,500. In the past, families with very low incomes did not receive the full credit.
Americans could get a payment as soon as this summer. The IRS could start providing advances on the 2021 credit through periodic payments of $250 for school-aged children starting as early as July 2021, depending on what the Treasury Department determines is workable. Under the proposed schedule, which could be as frequent as monthly, families could receive half of their total 2021 child tax credit this year and claim the remaining amount on their 2021 tax returns.
