BALTIMORE (WBFF/WKRC) - There's a debate underway in Washington D.C. as to whether more stimulus money will be sent to American families.
Previous rounds of COVID stimulus payments sent money to families in the order of $1,200, $600, and $1,400 - the last one being part of the American Rescue Plan signed into law by President Biden in March of 2021. The American Rescue Plan also sent money directly to families in the form of the expanded federal Child Tax Credit. The first half of the newly expanded credit is being delivered directly to families.
There's a specific set of people that the IRS was trying to reach and it could mean a lot of money for those families.
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The expanded Child Tax Credit payments can help out a family. The government sends families $300 for each child under the age of 6. Families get $250 per child ages 6 to 17. The payments are happening between July and December of 2021. That means a family with one child under 6 years old will have received $1,800 by the time the advanced payments end in December.
There are some families that were not already receiving the payments who also do not normally file a tax return because of the amount of money they make. People could have received these benefits, even if they don't work and even if they receive no income. There was a timeline for those families to sign up for the one-time payment. They needed to notify the IRS of their status by November 15.
According to the IRS, those families will get the entire first half of the Child Tax Credit as a single payment. Families who signed up by Monday will receive half of their total Child Tax Credit on December 15. This means a payment of up to $1,800 for each child, under 6, and up to $1,500 for each child, ages 6 to 17.
The future of the expanded Child Tax Credit is up in the air. The Biden administration would like to continue the expanded credit for one year and to make the expanded credit permanent.
Some lawmakers in Washington D.C want to make changes to the tax credit - namely Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who, in particular, would like to see a work requirement added to the payments.