On July 15, many of our TAC clients who
are full-time parents or caregivers to school-aged children, began receiving
their Advance Child Tax Credit payments from the IRS. The expanded child tax credit is
part of the American Rescue Plan, signed by President Joe Biden in March. For
the 2021 tax year, the credit increased to $3,000 from $2,000 for dependents
ages 17 and younger. It also gives an additional $600 for children under the
age of 6.
Those who qualify for the program
will receive the first half of the credit in advance monthly payments from July
to December this year – unless you opt out. Then, you will receive the full credit in a lump sum when you
file their taxes in 2022. The monthly amount will be $250 for children ages 6
to 17 and $300 for children under 6 in families receiving the full credit.
While receiving these payments in
advance has been welcomed by many of our TAC clients, others may choose to opt
out. This post will address the reasons why opting out of the program would be
beneficial for some TAC clients – and how that process is achieved.
Why un-enroll from the program?
According
to IRS.gov, you may want to unenroll from
receiving advance Child Tax Credit payments for several reasons, including if you expect the amount of tax you owe to
be greater than your expected refund when you file your 2021 tax return.
The payments you receive are an advance of the Child Tax Credit that you would
normally get when you file your 2021 tax return.
Because these credits are paid
in advance, every dollar you receive will reduce the amount of Child Tax Credit
you will claim on your 2021 tax return. This means that by accepting advance
child tax credit payments, the amount of your refund may be reduced or the
amount of tax you owe may increase.
You may avoid owing tax to
the IRS if you unenroll and claim the entire credit when you file your 2021 tax
return.
When should you
unenroll?
To stop advance
payments, you must unenroll three days before the first Thursday of next month
by 11:59 p.m. EST.You do not need
to unenroll each month, however you will receive the next scheduled advance
payment until the IRS processes your request to unenroll, which could take up
to seven days. The IRS recommends that you check back after unenrolling to make
sure your request was processed successfully.
Payment Month
Unenrollment Deadline
Payment Date
July
6/28/2021
7/15/2021
August
8/2/2021
8/13/2021
September
8/30/2021
9/15/2021
October
10/4/2021
10/15/2021
November
11/1/2021
11/15/2021
December
11/29/2021
12/15/2021
To
unenroll, use the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, found here.
If you have further questions about the Child Tax
Credit or unenrolling from it, please visit the IRS
website for more information, or contact Max or Nathan to learn more. # # #