Here’s How To Get $3,600 Per Child In Tax Credit

In the past, you could only qualify for the full child tax credit if you made enough money to owe income taxes. Thanks to the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, that is no longer the case.
President Biden expanded the child tax credit program, bumping up the payments to a maximum of $3,600 per child younger than 6 and $3,000 for children aged 6-17. That equals to up to $300 and $250 per month per child, respectively.

These new payments equaled a total of $93 billion, and the government began sending them out each month starting last July. For those who received those early payments, there may still be six additional months waiting to be claimed. And for families who have received zero benefits so far, they could claim even more. With $193 billion in unclaimed child tax credits, many families could soon see boosts to their bank accounts.

How can you receive these payments? You will have to file a tax return, as that is the only way to tell if you qualify.

Child Tax Credit Eligibility

December 2021 was the last month when the advanced payments were distributed to households. Over 36 million families received that payment. You can qualify for the full child tax credit if your 2021 adjusted gross income was less than $150,000 if you filed a joint return as a married couple or less than $75,000 as a single-filer parent.

Whether you owe tax money or have never filed taxes in the past, you will need to file a return if you hope to get all of the money or the rest to the cash that’s due. If you didn’t receive any advanced payments last year, you can still claim the full child tax credit amount on your tax return. If you are unsure of whether you received payments or have paper checks that went missing in the mail, you can go here to see how much you should have received.

Households sent advanced payments should have received a Letter 6419, 2021 advance CTC notice. Its purpose was to provide information on the advance payments and tax information.

According to the IRS, some families received incorrect information on the forms, which is why visiting that link above is a must if you want to see where you stand. It will tell you how much you should have received, so no guessing is involved.

How To Get Your Child Tax Credit

The IRS claims that the best way to get your child tax credit quickly is to file your taxes electronically. If you earned less than $66,000, you can use GetYourRefund.org to file your taxes for free. And if you earned less than $58,000, you can use MyFreeTaxes.com to file at no cost.

The deadline to file this year’s taxes is April 18. To learn more about the child tax credit, go here.