What The New Monthly Child Tax Credits Mean (NPR)

Roughly 39 million American families are eligible for monthly payments of up to $300 through the newly expanded child tax credit starting on July 15, the IRS and U.S. Treasury Department announced on Monday.

The advance child tax credit program is part of the Biden administration's $1.9 trillion economic aid package called the American Rescue Plan that was passed in March. It increases the existing tax benefit from $2,000 up to $3,600 for younger kids and $3,000 for older ones, for the 2021 tax year.

"For working families with children, this tax cut sends a clear message: Help is here," said President Biden in a Monday statement.

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How does it work?

Instead of forcing parents to wait until the following year — after filing annual income taxes — the relief checks are an advance on half what they'd typically be entitled to get.

In this case, eligible families qualify for up to $300 per month for each child under 6 years old and up to $250 for each child from 6 to 17. So a family with three children ages 5, 7 and 16 could see an extra $800 per month in their bank account through the latter half of the year. The credit goes away once a child reaches 18.

The amounts could be smaller depending on the parents' income and the IRS said final payment amounts will be determined by 2020 tax returns (or 2019 filings if the 2020 documents have not been processed in time) and it urges those who have yet to file to do it as soon as possible to make sure they're eligible for the appropriate amount.

Deposits will be made from July through December. The payments that represent the first half of 2020 will be provided later in a lump sum. Payments will be automatically deposited into accounts on file with the IRS, without any additional action required.

But the boost is temporary. "Congress must pass the American Families Plan to ensure that working families will be able to count on this relief for years to come," Biden said.

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Who is eligible?

Biden estimates that "about 90% of families with children will get this new tax relief automatically."