Advance child tax credit

Advance Child Tax Credit Payments in 2021

The IRS will send money to qualifying families every month for the next 6 months starting July 15th, 2021.  Uncle Sam aka IRS will pay half the total credit amount in advance monthly payments. You will be able to claim the other half when you file your 2021 income tax return.  Families will receive up to $300 a month from July to December for each qualifying child under age 6, for a total of $1,800. Families with children ages 6-17 will get up to $250 a month.
Qualify for advance child tax credit payments, you, and your spouse, if you filed a joint return must have:

1. Filed a 2019 or 2020 tax return and claimed the Child Tax Credit on the return or
2. Given the IRS your information in 2020 to receive the Economic impact payment using the NON Filers (IRS.gov for to enter payment info)
3. Main home in the United States for more than half the year or have filed a joint return with a spouse who has a main home in the United States for more than the year; and
4. A qualifying child who is under age 18 at the end of 2021 and has a valid social security number and
5. Made less than certain income limits

 
Families are automatically enrolled for the advance payments and must unenroll if they don’t want to receive the monthly payments (Unroll here)
 
Who should unenroll?
Many families may prefer to wait until the end of the year and receive the entire credit as a refund when they file their 2021 return. The child tax credit update portal which is available on the IRS website allows families to unenroll. The unenroll feature can also be helpful to any family that no longer qualifies for the Child Tax Credit or believes they will not qualify when thy file their 2021 return. This could happen if,

1. Their income in 2021 is too high to qualify (AGI is $70k for Single, $112,500 or less HOH. $150,000 or less for MFJ , qualified widows or widowers)
2. Someone else (ex-spouse or another family member) qualifies to claim their child or children as dependents in 2021.
3. Their main home was outside of the United States for more than half of 2021

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