Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan was designed to help struggling families suffering from financial woes that stemmed from the coronavirus pandemic. With the economy slowly recovering and normalcy appearing to be on the rise, Child Tax Credit payments will begin hitting bank accounts this week.
On Thursday, (July 15), millions of parents will begin receiving monthly payments under the expanded plan according to widely published reports. As part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the Child Tax Credit expansion will increase the overall credit claimed for some families and will parse the paments out monthly instead of one lump sum although that is an optional choice.
“One of the big ideas is to align this with the expenses you have with raising a child. You have to buy diapers every month. You have to buy food every month,” Erica York, an economist with Tax Foundation’s Center for Federal Tax Policy, said to Good Morning America. “So the idea is to provide the child tax credit aligned with those expenses to help with them rather than waiting and getting one lump sum payment once a year.”
As explained by The White House press room:
The Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan provides the largest Child Tax Credit ever and historic relief to the most working families ever – and as of July 15th, most families are automatically receiving monthly payments of $250 or $300 per child without having to take any action. The Child Tax Credit will help all families succeed.
The American Rescue Plan increased the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for children over the age of six and from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under the age of six, and raised the age limit from 16 to 17. All working families will get the full credit if they make up to $150,000 for a couple or $112,500 for a family with a single parent (also called Head of Household).
It should be noted that not one Republican in Congress supported this measure, as noted by Stacey Abrams and other Democratic Party leaders.
Today, working families across the country will start to see $300 payments hit their bank accounts as part of the newly expanded Child Tax Credit.
It's important to remember that every single Republican in the House & Senate voted against putting this money in peoples' pockets.
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) July 15, 2021
The #ChildTaxCredit is a historic victory.
Over 35 million families will begin receiving up to $300 per child from the American Rescue Plan. Every Republican in Congress voted against it.
Thank you @SenatorWarnock, Senator @Ossoff and GA voters for helping to deliver this help.
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) July 15, 2021
Learn more by following this link.
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Photo: Getty