Calculate how much you would get from the expanded child tax credit
President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package includes a massive one-year increase to the Child Tax Credit. The expansion could benefit as many as 83 million children and reduce the number of children living in poverty by more than 40 percent, at least temporarily.
See how much you could receive under the expanded credit:
Estimate your 2021 Child Tax Credit
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What is your tax filing status for 2020?
What is your adjusted gross income?
How many dependents are you claiming?
Under age 6 (as of Dec. 31, 2021)
Ages 6 through 16
17 years old
18 or older
Half of the tax credit would be paid out in monthly checks, beginning in July. Because the payments don’t start until the summer, they will be based on 2020 income for most taxpayers.
[Calculate how much you would get from the $1,400 (or more) coronavirus checks]
The other half of the credit will be applied to income taxes at the end of the year, and the full remainder refunded to families. In previous years, the entire CTC was applied to income taxes at the end of the year.
These three families all have three kids between 6 and 16 years old.
2021 Child Tax Credit
This year, the Martins and the Longs are eligible for the same $9,000 Child Tax Credit. The Hills are eligible for less money than the other families because they have a higher income.
Standard Child Tax Credit
Under the standard Child Tax Credit system, all three families would be eligible for the same $6,000 in tax credits.
Standard Child Tax Credit
However, the Martins would actually receive less than the other families. That’s because some of the standard CTC could be used only to pay federal income taxes, and the Martins owe less in income tax than they could receive from the CTC.
Standard Child Tax Credit
The Martins would receive a check for some of the CTC left after paying taxes, but lose $1,300 that could be used only to pay income tax. The Longs and the Hills would benefit from their full CTC because they owe more in income tax than they would receive in credits.
Enter your information in the calculator to see how you compare to these three families.
Under the one-year expansion, families would receive more money per child than under existing law, except for dependents 18 years and older.
Maximum tax credit, by dependent age
[Child tax credit: What you need to know]
The stimulus bill only expands the Child Tax Credit for one year, but Democrats hope to make the program permanent.
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