Gottheimer announces new, boosted child tax credit
Beginning in July, NJ Families Will Receive Child Tax Credit Dollars
NORTH JERSEY — U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) this week announced how the newly boosted Child Tax Credit will help thousands of North Jersey families as they recover from the pandemic and help parents cover the costs of food, diapers, healthcare, and clothing for their children.
Beginning July 15th, qualifying families will begin receiving Monthly Child Tax Credit dollars through the end of this year.
Nearly all families should get their Child Tax Credit automatically — with no further action required. Families who did not file a tax return for 2019 or 2020 and who did not use the IRS Non-filers tool last year to sign up for direct Economic Impact Payments, should go online and use the IRS Child Tax Credit Non-filer Sign-up Tool to sign up today.
Key Benefits for North Jersey from the boosted Child Tax Credit:
- An estimated 57% of children in New Jersey’s Fifth District will directly benefit from this boosted Child Tax Credit — that’s 96,200 Fifth District children.
- The average benefit for 32,900 Fifth District households will be $2,300 each.
- This boosted Child Tax Credit will help lift thousands of Fifth District children out of poverty.
“Helping our families and children get back to life after the pandemic, lifting children out of poverty, and clawing more of our federal tax dollars back to Jersey, should not be a Democrat or Republican issue,” Gottheimer said. “As part of the American Rescue Plan, we clawed back a new tax cut for New Jersey families — the expanded Child Tax Credit — to help parents and children recover from the pandemic, care for their families, help cover the costs of food, diapers, healthcare, and clothing; and to help our community move forward, out of the pandemic, together.”
Gottheimer made this week’s announcement with CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lower Bergen County, Joe Licata, at their Lodi Boys & Girls Club location.
How Much is the Child Tax Credit Boost from the American Rescue Plan?
The American Rescue Plan boosted the Child Tax Credit to up to $3,600 per child for children ages 0 to 5 and $3,000 per child for children ages 6 to 17.
The American Rescue Plan also authorized an upfront advance of the Child Tax Credit through December 2021. Beginning in July and running through December, qualifying families can qualify for up to:
- $300 a month per child for children ages 0 to 5.
- $250 a month per child for children ages 6 to 17.
Families can access the remaining boosted Child Tax Credit when they file their 2021 tax return.
Who Qualifies?
Families will qualify for a full credit if their income is below $75,000 for single filers, $112,000 for people filing as head of household, or $150,000 for people who are married and filing jointly.
How Do I Get My Payment?
- Nearly all hardworking families should get their monthly payments automatically beginning July 15th with no further action required. If you’ve filed tax returns for 2019 or 2020, or if you signed up to receive a stimulus check from the Internal Revenue Service, you will get this tax relief automatically. You do not need to sign up or take any action.
- Families who did not file a tax return for 2019 or 2020 and who did not use the IRS Non-filers tool last year to sign up for the Economic Impact Payments, should go online and use the IRS Child Tax Credit Non-filer Sign-up Tool to sign up today.
- Families who got their refunds from the IRS through direct deposit will get these payments in their bank account around the 15th of every month until the end of 2021. People who don’t use direct deposit will receive their payment by mail around the same time.
- Families will be able to determine their eligibility, check the status of their payments and more at IRS.gov/childtaxcredit2021 later this month.
Watch out for scams
According to IRS.gov: “The IRS urges everyone to be on the lookout for scams related to both Advance Child Tax Credit payments and Economic Impact Payments. The IRS emphasized that the only way to get either of these benefits is by either filing a tax return with the IRS or registering online through the Non-filer Sign-up tool, exclusively on IRS.gov. Any other option is a scam.
Watch out for scams using email, phone calls or texts related to the payments. Be careful and cautious: The IRS never sends unsolicited electronic communications asking anyone to open attachments or visit a non-governmental web site.”
