National Association of Counties
On January 21, the White House and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) announced a new, updated website for families to access the full, expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC). The updates on ChildTaxCredit.gov include a new tool for tax filing options, information on eligibility and instructions on how to obtain credits. The website also now includes both virtual and in-person assistance available in multiple languages to ensure accessibility during tax season.
The CTC was temporarily expanded under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The one-year expansion allowed families to receive up to $3,000 per child ages 6-17 and $3,600 per child ages 0-6, with the first half of the credit available via monthly payments from July 2021 to December 2021. Additionally, ARPA made the credit fully refundable in 2021, expanding eligibility to families who typically do not have sufficient income tax liability to receive the full credit, including those without earnings.
As of December 2021, over 61 million children have received almost $93 billion in support from the expanded CTC. Estimates suggest that if all eligible households claimed the expanded CTC credit, child poverty would decrease by more than 40 percent. However, because the credit was newly available to many households that typically do not earn enough income to file taxes (non-filers), not all households have accessed this resource. Currently, the Treasury estimates that 2.3 million eligible children are still not enrolled.
County officials and human services staff played a key role in outreach and education to ensure that the vulnerable households receive the full CTC, especially by connecting non-filers with a simplified tool to claim credit. With tax filing season officially open, county leaders are encouraged to share the ChildTaxCredit.gov resource with residents who are eligible for the remainder of the credit.
NACo will continue to provide updates on the process for families to file for the expanded CTC.
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