The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was recently signed into law and it contains numerous relief provisions for individual taxpayers, including some significant changes to the Child Tax Credit. Background regarding this Advance Child Tax Credit can be found within these documents- Publications 5534B and 5534C.

The Advance Child Tax Credit is not just available to taxpayers with children that file tax returns, but also to people with children who have low or no income.

To qualify for Advance Child Tax Credit payments, individuals must:

1. Have a main home in the United States for more than half the year (the 50 states and the District of Columbia) or file a joint return with a spouse who has a main home in the United States for more than half the year; and

2. Have a qualifying child who is under age 18 at the end of 2021 and who has a valid Social Security number; and 

3. If have earned income, made less than Modified Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of:

• $75,000 or less for singles,

• $112,500 or less for heads of household and

• $150,000 or less for married couples filing a joint return and qualified widows and widowers

In order to receive this credit, you need to act by using the Child Tax Credit Non-filer Sign-up Tool available on IRS.gov.

Advanced Child Tax Credit payments are not considered income and will not affect your access to government benefits like SSI, SNAP, TANF or WIC. See #IRS info at https://go.usa.gov/x6fyE

If you need assistance, go to the following IRS link: Get Free Tax Prep Help.