Are you eligible for the child tax credit?
2:50
(CNN) -
Melinda Williams, a married mother of five children, did not believe her family qualified for the child tax credit since they did not earn enough to file a tax return.
Therefore, the New York City resident did not pay much attention to the benefit that Congress increased earlier in the year.
But then her pastor, Bishop Mitchell Taylor of the Center of Hope International, told her last week that the expanded credit could be worth $ 3,000 to each of her children in 2021. The next day, Williams made an appointment. at Urban Upbound, a free tax preparation center that Taylor founded, and filed a 2020 return that will allow the Queens family to receive not only monthly child tax credit payments, but various stimulus payments as well. that were lost.
Child tax credit stimulus: what you should know about the stimulus that begins July 15
Williams plans to use the funds to cover some expenses, as well as school supplies and clothing for her two girls and three boys, who are between 7 and 17 years old.
She and her husband also hope to save some money to pay for college and buy a house one day.
"It reduces anxiety," said Williams, a homemaker, of what the new benefits mean to her.
With this benefit, "wondering what you are going to do if the money runs out before the end of the month does not generate stress."
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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) hopes to reach millions of low-income families like the Williamses as the massive expansion of the child tax credit begins rolling out this week.
Bringing the funds to these homes is crucial to the Biden administration and the Congressional Democrats' goal of reducing child poverty by nearly half by 2021 through the expanded benefit.
As part of the upgrade, half of the credit will be sent home in monthly installments.
Payments begin July 15 and run through the end of the year.
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Most parents don't have to do anything to get the funds, as the IRS already has their 2020 or 2019 returns showing they made the claim for the regular child tax credit, which was $ 2,000 for each child up to the 17 years, until this year. Approximately 39 million households, covering 88% of the children, will automatically begin receiving monthly payments. The IRS has sent more than 36 million letters to parents informing them of enhanced credit and possible eligibility.
But those who did not file their returns or who used the agency's non-filers tool to receive last year's stimulus checks should take steps to get their child tax credit payments.
It is not known exactly how many children are in these families, but it is estimated that around 5 million.
However, reaching these families will not be easy.
The effort also draws on thousands of community groups across the country, who are trying to educate parents about enhanced credit and encourage them to file returns or register on the IRS website - efforts that could require a lot of help.
A strengthened child tax credit
Eligible parents can get half of their credit, up to $ 300 per month for each child under age 6 and up to $ 250 for each age 6 to 17, from now until the rest of the year.
They can claim the other half when they file their 2021 taxes next year.
The payments come from the Democrats' $ 1.9 billion American Rescue Plan, which bolstered the existing child tax credit, giving families up to $ 3,600 for each child under the age of 6 and up to $ 3,000 for each one from 6 to 17 years old by 2021.
The full enhanced credit will be available to heads of households earning $ 112,500 and joint taxpayers earning up to $ 150,000 annually.
After this figure begins to be phased out.
Another key point to fighting poverty is that the aid package makes the tax credit fully refundable so that more low-income parents can take advantage of it.
It had previously only been partially refundable, leaving an estimated 23 million children unable to obtain full credit because their family income is too low.
However, the extended credit is only in effect in 2021, although Democrats hope to extend it.
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The outreach effort
The Biden administration, along with the IRS and community organizations across the country, are making a significant effort to reach very low-income families who have not qualified for all or most credit in the past. The agency takes advantage of the reach it has achieved since it began sending all three rounds of stimulus payments to these households during the pandemic.
Urban Upbound, which helped Williams, is one of several community groups in 12 cities that partnered with the IRS for two weekends this summer in an effort to help low-income families file their returns so they can receive the improved credit.
In addition to New York, the cities included Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Houston, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Los Angeles, as well as the city of Washington.
The agency selected these locations based on data indicating that many children who live in them do not appear on IRS records, said Sue Simon, director of customer assistance, relations and education in the agency's wage and investment division.
Other cities are planned to be identified during the summer.
If parents do not want to file a complete return, they can use an IRS portal that allows them to register for the enhanced child tax credit, similar to the tool used last year by more than 8 million people to register and receive checks. stimulus, according to the agency. Users can provide the necessary information about their homes and, if they wish, their bank accounts so that the IRS can deposit the funds directly.
The IRS and nonprofits are also placing flyers at local advocacy agencies, supermarkets, food banks, domestic violence shelters, community events, and other locations.
They are using social media and trying to spread the word about credit and the ways families can apply for it through religious venues, neighborhood groups, and other trusted sources.
Local government agencies and community organizations are critical in reaching these families and providing them with the tools and resources necessary to obtain credit, said Patrick Cooney, deputy director of economic mobility for Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan.
Last week, Bread for the World, a Christian anti-hunger group, hosted a webinar for churches and food banks in their network to explain credit and tour the portal, as well as to hear from Gene Sperling, an official from the Biden administration that oversees the implementation of the COVID-19 relief law.
It is also building a toolkit with information in different languages to disseminate in the communities.
"I don't think there has been any other policy in decades that reduces poverty and hunger like this one," said Sergio Mata-Cisneros, an internal policy analyst for the group, which works with 250,000 activists.
Some advocates plan to go door-to-door to educate families.
Many people don't feel comfortable talking about their taxes, particularly in a virtual setting or over the phone, said Jessica Brown, director of strategic initiatives for Community Development Advocates of Detroit, which has more than 200 community organizations as members.
The organization is spearheading an effort by 40 local groups to reach 20,000 households by the end of October, providing them with information, but also trying to connect them with professionals who can help them prepare returns or help them use the IRS portal for free.
"This campaign will be successful because we are using those organizations that these people trust, that they already trust to find information for other resources," Brown said.
"That's a key part: that trusting relationship with someone who already knows the residents' needs," he continued.
"Having that will make it easier for residents to overcome the hurdle of 'is this something I can do?'
or any barrier that prevents them from filing taxes. "
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A difficult task
It will not be easy for the IRS and community groups to get many non-filers to sign up, especially after intense efforts to get very low-income Americans to apply for their stimulus checks.
"Outreach is much more difficult," said Francine Lipman, a tax law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who works with local groups.
Last Friday only two people filed their taxes to claim the credit at Urban Upbound in New York City, and the IRS saw low turnout at some of its sites at its event in late June, though the agency did respond to more than 1,000 people in 12 cities that weekend, Simon said.
Complicating matters is that some return preparation locations remain closed, are virtually working, or have fewer staff due to the pandemic, while others do not have the ability to operate outside of the traditional tax filing season.
Additionally, the IRS non-filers portal is difficult to use on a mobile phone, and many low-income Americans lack access to a computer, advocates say.
Also, the information is in English only, although the agency says it is working on a Spanish version.
That means community groups have additional work to do to guide non-English speakers through the site.
Child tax benefit: who will receive it and when?
1:17
Additionally, non-citizens seeking the IRS Personal Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) they need to apply for the credit for their citizen children face long delays, Lipman said.
However, he is confident that more people will take notice once the $ 300 checks begin to arrive in the bank accounts of his friends and family later this week.
"Once we explain to them that they can get their money when they file their taxes or they can get this money throughout the year to help them with their daily expenses, that's the motivation," said Pat Smith, director of the Nevada Free Taxes Coalition program, which has two sites in Las Vegas that will help residents file their returns through mid-October. "Most of these people live on the edge anyway. So any small amount that you put in on a monthly basis will help them."
The potential of getting a $ 750 monthly loan for her three teenage children is what attracted Ivelisse Vásquez, a house cleaner who lost her job in the pandemic.
Vasquez saw information about the enhanced benefit on his phone.
He said he could use the funds to pay rent and bills, as well as school supplies for his children.
"I brought everything," he said, stroking a black bag with his financial documents, "so I hope I can get something."
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