Babies born anytime this year are also qualified for the $3600 child tax credit. However, parents need to take extra steps to get the money.
The government allocated child tax credit payments to help eligible families with their child care expenses. This program also applies to children adopted or born before the end of the year. Depending on the age and number of dependents, families could get $3600 to $7200.
To receive the child tax credit payment, both children and guardians need to be eligible for the program.
Child Tax Credit 2021: Are 2021 Babies Eligible?
To emphasize, any child adopted or born before December 31, 2021 qualifies for the child tax credit payment 2021. However, there could be two issues encountered during the processing of their payments. First, these children must be claimed and declared through the IRS database. Second, the child tax credit payments could be irregularly sent due to delivery date issues.
Here are some scenarios that should help explain child tax credit payments for babies, per Cnet:
Children Born or Adopted Before 2021
Children who are born or adopted before this year should ideally be declared in the 2019 or 2020 tax returns. If you submitted your tax returns, then you don't have to do anything. Child tax credit payments should be delivered to your account automatically.
Note that child tax credit payments will vary depending on the children's age. Children under age six can get $3600, Children ages six to 17 can get $3000, and other older dependents can qualify for a one-time payment of $500.
Children Born or Adopted Between January 1 to December 31
Any child born or adopted within the year qualifies for child tax credit payments. However, the money would only be delivered after you register or update your information with the IRS. If you updated your information between January or June, then the child tax credit payments should be sent to your account starting July.
Families who register their new dependents later than these dates should experience delivery delays with their payments. The IRS announced that monthly payments might adjust and increase depending on the missed payments. Parents can also opt to declare new dependents when they file their taxes in 2022 and receive the child tax credit payment in one lump sum instead.
Children Born or Adopted Beyond 2022
Unless the child tax credit program gets extended, children born or adopted by 2022 will not be included in the budget.
How to Claim $3600 With Child Tax Credit Update Portal
The IRS plans to make declaring new children easier for eligible families. According to Cnet, IRS should update their Child Tax Credit Portal by late September.
The IRS will be adding new features that let parents:
- Update their household information
- Check child tax credit payment status
- Unenroll from monthly payments
- Change status income
- Change number of dependents
Families are recommended to always visit the Child Tax Credit Portal and watch out for these updates.
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