By Carmen Reinicke - CNBC + Acorns
There is a new way to sign up for the child tax credit that focuses on reaching more eligible families.
The nonprofit technology organization Code for America last week launched a free, mobile-friendly platform, in both English and Spanish, where families can sign up for this enhanced help, including monthly payments through the end of anus.
The new site, GetCTC.org, is launched in collaboration with the Treasury Department and the White House.
In addition, Code for America is providing training materials and other resources to community organizations that are on the front lines to help eligible families enroll in the benefit.
["We live from check to check." The end of unemployment benefits looks into the abyss for millions of people]
"In just two months, it is already clear that the child tax credit is having a significant impact on working families in America," David Newville, director of the tax benefits program at Code for America, said in a statement.
"Now, we want to do everything possible to ensure that every family has access to credit," he added.
Enhanced Child Tax Credit Details
The American Rescue Plan improved the existing child tax credit by adding advance monthly payments and increasing the benefit to $ 3,000 from $ 2,000, with a $ 600 bonus for children under age 6, for tax year 2021. The credit Enhanced is also fully refundable, meaning that families with little or no taxable income can get the benefit for the first time.
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Many eligible families have been receiving the first half of the credit in monthly payments, which began in July and runs through December, of $ 300 for children under age 6 and $ 250 for children ages 6 to 17. .
They will receive the second half when they file their 2021 income tax return next year.
Most of the families started receiving the money automatically based on their previous tax returns.
But those who traditionally do not file because they are not making enough money could have been lost, since they needed to register through an IRS site to get the credit.
[Unemployment fell slightly in August to 5.2% and hiring stopped abruptly due to the delta variant]
That left about four million children eligible for the credit at risk of not receiving it, according to a report from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
Additionally, some of these families may have had difficulty signing up through the IRS site, which was not mobile friendly but offers languages other than English.
The Code for America enrollment tool uses a simplified statement that only includes the information needed to enroll for the credit, so it should be easier for families to submit their information.
Those who sign up now could start receiving monthly benefits in a few weeks, according to the organization, and will also receive the three economic impact payments - better known as stimulus checks - to which they are entitled and may have lost.
Of course, there may still be obstacles for some families to enroll in the new child tax credit.
In the future, the Treasury, along with Code for America, hopes to add more features to the enrollment tool, to ensure that even more eligible families get the benefit.
[Not yet signed up for child aid checks? Follow these steps to get the next payments]
Although the current enhanced credit is only available for fiscal year 2021, Democrats are currently drafting their $ 3.5 trillion spending plan, which will expand the child tax credit and other safety net programs.
The committees are responsible for having their pieces of legislation ready by September 15th.
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