Loli Pollard hugs her son Enzo on the first day of kindergarten at Dillon Valley Elementary School on August 25th. Parents of children under the age of 6 can receive up to $ 300 per month from the federal government under the extended child tax credit.
Photo by Jason Connolly / For the Summit Daily News
As part of the US rescue plan, the child tax credit has been expanded in an unprecedented way, allowing families to receive monthly payments of up to $ 250 per child ages 6-17 and up to $ 300 per child under 6.
Colorado US Senator Michael Bennet was instrumental in drafting the expansion and worked to promote the program across the state. He said the expansion will make it possible to reach the poorest children in the county as it will be fully refundable for the first time.
“Ten million children living in poverty in this country who have not yet been eligible for the full credit are eligible,” Bennet said in an interview with Summit Daily News. “That’s why 90% of the children in Colorado benefit from the loan, and that’s why we’re cutting our child poverty rate almost in half.”
People who file their taxes with the Internal Revenue Service are automatically registered, but those who don’t file taxes will need to register separately. Bennet said the easiest way to make sure you are benefiting from the extension is to visit GetCTC.org. The registration deadline for payment in October is Monday, October 4th at 11:59 p.m.
While there are a variety of eligibility requirements, the most important one is that the eligible child has a Social Security number valid for employment in the United States. Joint applicants with incomes up to $ 150,000 and single householders with incomes up to $ 112,500 are eligible for monthly prepayments. The amount of tax credit a parent receives must be reported on their 2021 tax return.
Bennet said increasing the amount of money for children under 6 is a key aspect of the expansion, along with the availability of monthly payments. He said his office is working with about 100 advocacy groups across the state to raise awareness about the program.
“The IRS did this very well on a monthly basis, but we haven’t reached everyone yet,” said Bennet. “… Anything anyone can do locally to get the message across, especially to people who may not be filing tax returns, is something that would really help.”
In Summit County, local agencies are also working to ensure families are aware of this possibility. Lucinda Burns, executive director of Early Childhood Options, said the organization is trying to spread the tax credit through all of its childcare programs.
“We think this is a very important benefit for all families, especially low-income families,” said Burns.
Burns said she believes there has been confusion among some non-taxable families and they are trying to make sure they know how to register when they are not. She also said she believed that when in fact they actually are, some families may think they are not eligible because this tax credit is different from previous programs.
“It really is meaningful enough to lift children out of poverty and improve children’s educational and health outcomes,” said Burns. “So it’s a very exciting opportunity. We just want to make sure all families know about it. “
Burns cited a study by the Center for American Progress that said a $ 3,000 increase in annual family income could result in an income increase of 19% once children reach adulthood.
“Having a lot more money going into our economy is great, but that’s enough to really lift people out of poverty,” said Burns.
Danielle McQueen, scholarship and evaluation manager at Family & Intercultural Resource Center, said the center will reach out to its clients to make sure they know they have access to child tax credit. She said the center has a new program that will evaluate clients’ suitability for various programs and send them information on how to use them.
McQueen said that with this new system, the center hopes to send out a bilingual fact sheet to ensure local Spanish-speaking residents are aware of the possibility. Customers can send the Center Back an SMS with questions.
“We hope that … if you don’t even know about it when you file your taxes, you will be pleasantly surprised,” said McQueen. “But we want to raise awareness so that people will expect it.”
Summit County’s Commissioner Tamara Pogue said the tax credit was particularly valuable for local families given the high cost of living in the area.
“Having these resources to make up for some of that extra expense can really make a huge difference in the lives of these families,” Pogue said. “We know that childcare is very expensive, housing is very expensive and our wages cannot keep up with these costs. That is one possibility, I think, that the federal government can make a very concrete contribution to the fact that families live here. “
As a single mother, Pogue said she faced the same problems as other working families in the county, and she said the monthly tax credits helped her. She said it was important to make sure every Summit County family is aware of monthly payment options.
“I think this is a very elegant way to cut child poverty almost in half in this country,” said Bennet. “We have one of the highest child poverty rates in the industrialized world … and I just don’t think we should accept that as a permanent condition for our democracy or our economy. It’s unfair to our children. “