Without the passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion economic plan, Build Back Better, the monthly payments will expire, and the child tax credit will revert to its much smaller pre-pandemic form. The enhanced payment due families on Dec. 15 may be the last.
The American Rescue Plan, enacted in March, expanded the existing child tax credit, increasing the amount and scope of the benefit.
The credit was increased to $3,000 from $2,000 with a $600 bonus for kids under the age of 6 for the 2021 tax year. It also established monthly payments, which began in July and go through December in deposits of $300 for children under the age of 6 and $250 for those aged 6 to 17. The second half will come when families file 2021 tax returns next year.
