Expanded Child Tax Credit

The American Rescue Plan provides direct payments in the form of a ‘child allowance’ to every low-income family. Rep. Sewell has been fighting in Congress for years to provide these payments for families and to uplift Alabamians out of poverty. These payments are an expansion of the Child Tax Credit, a program which previously excluded millions of low-income children but is now expected to benefit 1 million more children throughout Alabama.

Beginning July 15, 2021, eligible families will receive advance monthly payments of $300 per child under the age of 6 and $250 per child under the age of 18. Families will receive the remainder of their CTC when they file their 2021 tax return.

All working families will get the full credit if they make up to $150,000 for a couple or $112,500 for a family with a single parent (also called Head of Household).

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 income taxes in 2019 or 2020 and did not sign up for a stimulus check can use the IRS' non-filer tool to sign up for Child Tax Credit monthly payments by clicking here.

Payments will be directly deposited into your bank account every month from July to December 2021. If the IRS does not have your direct desposit information on file, they will mail you a check.

• In the State of Alabama, the Child Tax Credit is expected to:
• Benefit 91% of children (or 1,004,200) 
• Impact 316,400 households
• Lift 82,700 children out of poverty
• Lift 43,100 children out of deep poverty

• In Alabama’s 7th District, the Child Tax Credit is expected to:
• Benefit 93.5% of children (or 138,300) 
• Impact 43,700 households with an average benefit of $3,200 per household
• Lift 14,200 children out of poverty
• Lift 7,200 children out of deep poverty

According to an analysis by the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University, the expanded Child Tax Credit could cut child poverty in the United States by more than half.