After the brutally affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, a bill was passed under the American Rescue Plan into law by President Biden on 11th March 2021. It is a government program to provide citizens with more financial support. The most important part of this plan is the Child Tax Credit.
The children whose age is under 6 will get monthly $300 and yearly $4000 and those who are between the age gaps 6-17 will receive monthly $250 and yearly $3000. But at first, families will only receive for each child annually is $2000. From 2024, they will get up to $3000 with an extra $600. This entire Child Tax Credit (CTC) stimulus checks 2024 program is administrated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and is expected to be effective from 15th July 2024 for all eligible families based on specific criteria.
Overview of $4000 Stimulus Checks 2024:
This Child Tax Credit or CTC stimulus payment is scheduled to be prepared on the 15th of each month. The $4000 stimulus checks for 2024 will initiate with the first payment which is available on 15th July 2024. All eligible families can check the status of the payments through the IRS website. All the eligible families will automatically receive the payments as they have filled out the previous year’s tax return. In case some families have facing issues receiving payments they must check the IRS guidelines and all the important steps. Also, they should check whether they have filed the tax return or updated any information in the Child Tax Credit update portal.
Child tax credit amount of 2024:
The child tax credit or CTC is a kind of tax benefit that includes both refundable as well as non refundable features. The maximum credit for the year 2024 for eligible children whose age is under 17 is $2000 as of 31st December 2023. If no taxes are to be paid then a refund can be stated up to $1600. Though the outstanding credit is non refundable which is only used to decrease payable taxes. Taxpayers must file a tax return to claim this credit.
According to Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) the amount of Child Tax credit is decreased by $50 for every $1000 over the annual income limit set. Entirely the child tax credit is phased out when the MAGI beats $480,000 for married couples and $240,000 for individual tax filers.
Eligibility criteria for $4000 Stimulus Checks 2024:
Those are the following criteria that must met to be eligible for the Child Tax Credit 2024. Here are some main points,
- As of December 31, 2023 the child being claimed should be under the age of 17.
- The child must have survived with the taxpayer for more than half of the financial year.
- The taxpayer needs to provide the child with at least half of the financial support throughout the last year.
- The child should have a valid social security number.
- The taxpayer must be a U.S. citizen or foreign resident throughout the year.
- Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) should not exceed $400,000 for the married couple who will file jointly and $200,000 for the individual.
- The children should be claimed as dependent on the tax return.
- The child must be a direct progeny of any of the taxpayers like nephew, grand child or it should be a direct relation like biological child, foster child, step child, step brother, step sister.
State wise $4000 Stimulus payment schedule 2024:
Every state of the US has provided the payment dates and on those dated eligible citizens will receive the payments. Here is the list,
| State | Program | Payment date |
| Texas | Uplift Harris Guaranteed Income | Recess |
| California | Fresno Guaranteed Income | 15th May |
| New Mexico | Economic Relief Payment | June TBD |
| Alaska | Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) | 16th May |
| Michigan | Ann Arbor Guaranteed Income | 15th May |
| Washington | Growing Resilience in Tacoma (GRIT) | 15th May |
| New York | Rochester Guaranteed Basic Income | 15th May |
CTC stimulus tax time guide 2024 by IRS:
IRS announced some new and updated resources to help taxpayers file a proper tax return. For the year 2023, the standard deduction child tax credit amount has been increased for each eligible child is $1,600. Also, many changes that were executed by the American Rescue Plan Act 2021 have now expired.
Legislation considered by Congress that affects Child Tax credit is monitored by the IRS. In that case, the IRS informs the eligible taxpayers need to not wait to file their 2023 return. If Congress changes any guidelines of the Child Tax Credit, the IRS will make modifications for those who have filed the return. As of December 31, 2023 taxpayers must be age of 25 and under age 65 for claiming Earned Income tax credit without a qualifying child in 2023. If you want to get more information regarding Child tax credit, you can check the instructions for schedule 8812 (Form 1040) on the IRS website.
Concept of refundability:
The most important change in Child Tax Credit was full refundability. To modify the Child Tax Credit a proposal was suggested which is $2000 for 2023, 2024, and 2025. This proposed adjustment allows taxpayers to receive a refund based on a portion of credit.
The maximum refundable amount is increased by $1800 in 2023, $1900 in 2024 and $2000 in 2025. In that case, the outstanding $2000 is not fully refundable. In 2023, if the taxpayer’s tax liability is zero then $200 will be non refundable, can only refundable when tax is to be paid.
But, don’t worry about this proposal; it will not affect how you file your taxes. Because this proposal is under discussion and till now it is not mentioned as law.
How to file Child Tax credit:
Here is the detailed procedure as step-by-step to complete the USA child Tax credit application. Let’s have a check!
- To file your taxes use IRS Form 1040. From credits section of this form you can claim the child tax credit.
- Provide all the necessary information for eligible children on Form 1040.
- If you want to claim Additional child tax credit or ACTC then you need to fill the schedule 8812 and attach this with Form 1040.
- By using IRS approved software you can e-file the tax return and refunds.
- If you want to file a paper return you need to mail it to the IRS. You can get specific state-wise mail addresses from the official website of the IRS.