By Carmen Reinicke -
CNBC
Millions of American families with children have received three monthly payments, totaling $ 45 billion, since July through the Enhanced Child Tax Credit.
There is a limited time for families with eligible children to enroll if they did not receive checks automatically
, probably because they do not usually file taxes.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) portal will be open to them until October 15, which means there is a month left for families to use it, the agency reported.
"If parents have not yet received payment and are eligible, there is still time to enroll,"
said Ashley Burnside, policy analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy.
"They can use the IRS portal, that's still an option," he explained.
These are the requirements to receive aid checks of up to $ 300 for each child
May 17, 202101: 51
After October and through mid-November, families will be able to use the GetCTC.org tool
, a website launched by
Code for America
in collaboration with the Treasury Department and the White House, to sign up for the loan, according to a Treasury official. .
Larger checks
Families who sign up for the credit now will see that the remaining payments are higher than those received monthly since July, when the checks began.
This is because the monthly money is an advance on the 2021 tax credit. Half will be due this year and the rest will come when families file their taxes next year.
The American Rescue Plan, approved in March, expanded the child tax credit,
adding monthly advance payments and increasing the benefit from $ 2,000 to $ 3,000 with a bonus in fiscal year 2021 of $ 600 for children under 6 years of age.
Which families will receive the monthly check for children?
A White House spokeswoman clarifies doubts
June 21, 202103: 12
For example, a family with two children ages 5 and 7 entitled to the full credit would receive $ 6,600
($ 3,000 for the 7-year-old, plus $ 3,600 for the 5-year-old).
If they filed taxes in 2019 or 2020 and had a direct deposit, the family would begin receiving the first $ 3,300 of the credit in six monthly payments of 550, which will run from July to December.
But
if a family does not report taxes because they are not making enough money, they would have to sign up for monthly payments
through the IRS Unfiler Tool.
If you didn't get your July payment, but you signed up in August, as about a million families did, you will still get $ 3,300 before December.
“Families that did not get a payment in July or August and are receiving their first monthly payment in September will still receive their full advance payment for the year of up to $ 1,800 for each child under 6 and up to $ 1,500 for each child. ages 6 to 17, ”the IRS said in a Sept. 15 statement, coinciding with the third monthly payment sent to families.
$ 1 million fund will continue to help undocumented immigrants in nine states of the country
Sept.
19, 202101: 51
“This means that
the total amount will be spread over four months, instead of six, which makes each monthly payment higher.
For these families, each monthly payment is up to $ 450 for each child under 6 years of age and $ 375 for each child from 6 to 17 years old, ”the agency explained.
With each passing month, newly enrolled families will get slightly higher payments
as the IRS works to make sure they get the first half of the credit before tax time.
Those who wait until November to register through the
Code for America
tool
will receive the first half of the credit in a single check in December, a Treasury official reported.
Families that traditionally do not file taxes and now sign up for the credit can also claim any stimulus payments from the last year and a half for which they were eligible but did not collect.
Why Families Should Enroll Now
If a family doesn't sign up for the new child tax credit this year, they will lose their advance payment, but they can still get the money in a lump sum next year.
However, to get the credit, they will have to file their 2021 taxes.
If a family does not report taxes because they do not earn enough money, they have to register through the IRS Non-Filers Tool.Brian Snyder / REUTERS
Even those who normally do not do so because they do not earn enough can access the benefit, as the improved version was made fully reimbursable to ensure that it reaches the most vulnerable families.
Although experts say that
everyone with a qualifying child should enroll as soon as possible
, unless they are part of a family that knows they want to opt out and receive the benefit in a lump sum next year.
"We would not like money to go to waste while people are hungry, while people are in precarious housing, precarious food," said Otis Rolley, vice president of the American Equity and Economic Opportunity Initiative at the Rockefeller Foundation.
Enrolling now could also make it easier for families to obtain child tax assistance in the future.
Currently, Democrats are working to pass legislation that continues for years to come with improved credit, including monthly payments.
This article is part of the
Invest in You Ready series.
Set.
Grow
(Invest in you: Ready. Done. Grow), an initiative of CNBC and Acorns, the microinvestment app.
NBC Universal and Comcast Ventures are
Acorns
investors
.