(CNN) – Melinda Williams, a married mother of five, believed her family did not qualify for the child tax credit because they did not earn enough to file income tax returns. So the New York City resident didn't pay much attention to the historic increase in Congressional benefit earlier this year.
But then her pastor, Bishop Mitchell Taylor of the Center of Hope International, said last week that the expanded credit for each of her children could be worth $ 3,000 for 2021. Williams set up an appointment with Urban Upbound, a free tax preparation center founded by Taylor. for the next day, filing a 2020 statement allowing the Queens family not only to receive the monthly child tax credits but also several incentive payments that they missed out on.
Williams plans to use the money to cover some expenses as well as school supplies and clothing for her two girls and three boys, who are between 7 and 17 years old – and she and her husband are also hoping to put away some cash to pay for college and university buy a house someday.
"It reduces anxiety," said Williams, a home mom, about what the new benefits mean for her. "There's no stress in wondering what you're going to do if your money runs out before the month is up."
The Internal Revenue Service hopes to reach millions more low-income families like the Williamses as it begins massive child tax credit expansion this week. Bringing the funds to these budgets is critical to the Biden government and Congress Democrats' goal of nearly halving child poverty through the boosted benefit by 2021.
As part of the top-up, half of the loan is transferred to the households in monthly installments. Payments begin on July 15th and run through the end of the year.
Most parents don't have to do anything to receive the money as the IRS already has their 2020 or 2019 declarations stating that they have claimed the regular child tax credit that will be available for every child up to the age of 17 by this year Years ago was $ 2,000. Around 39 million households covering 88% of the children will receive the monthly payments automatically.
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But those who didn't file their tax returns last year or used the agency's non-filer tool to get the stimulus checks will need to take action to get the child tax credits. Exactly how many children are in these families is not known, but it is estimated to be around 5 million.
However, it will not be easy to reach these families. The effort also draws on thousands of community groups across the country trying to educate parents about the improved credit score and get them to submit returns or register on the IRS website, both of which could take a lot of assistance.
A souped-up child tax deduction
Eligible Parents can get half their balance effective now through the rest of the year – up to $ 300 per month for each child under 6 years of age and up to $ 250 for each child ages 6-17. They can claim the other half when they file their taxes for 2021 next year.
The payments come from the US Democrats' $ 1.9 trillion bailout plan that topped up the existing tax credit for children and families up to $ 3,600 for each child under the age of 6 and up to $ 3,000 for each Child, ages 6-17, granted for 2021 will be available for heads of household with incomes of $ 112,500 and for joint applicants up to $ 150,000 per year, after which it will begin to expire.
Another key to fighting poverty: the relief package makes the tax credit fully refundable so that more low-income parents can benefit from it. It was only partially refundable – around 23 million children could not get the full loan because their families' incomes were too low.
However, the extended loan is only valid for 2021, though Democrats hope to extend it.
The mediation efforts
The Biden government, along with the IRS and community organizations across the country, is making a major push to reach very low-income families who have historically not qualified for all or most of the loan. The agency builds on the efforts it has made since the pandemic began to send these Americans three rounds of stimulus payments – since they don't file tax returns, the IRS doesn't know who they are.
Urban Upbound, which Williams sponsored, is one of several community groups in 12 cities that worked with the IRS over two weekends this summer to help low-income families file their return so they can get the improved credit score. In addition to New York, the cities also included Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Houston, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Los Angeles as well as the greater Washington, DC area.
The agency selected these locations based on data that found many children living in them did not show up on IRS records, said Sue Simon, director of customer care, relationships and education for the wages and investments division Agency. Additional cities are to be identified in the course of the summer.
If parents don't want to fill out a full declaration, they can use an IRS portal that allows them to register for the extended child tax deduction – much like they did last year to sign up for the stimulus checks carried out by. it has used more than 8 million people, the agency said. Users can provide the necessary information about their household and, if they wish, their bank accounts so that the IRS can deposit the funds directly.
The IRS and nonprofits also post flyers in local charities, grocery stores, billboards, domestic violence shelters, community events, and elsewhere. They use social media and try to spread the word about the loan and the ways families can apply for it through houses of worship, neighborhood groups and other trusted sources.
Local government agencies and community organizations are critical to reaching out to these families and providing them with the tools and resources needed to receive the loan, said Patrick Cooney, associate director of economic mobility for Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan.
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Bread for the World, a Christian anti-hunger group, hosted a webinar last week for the churches and blackboards on their network to explain creditworthiness and go through the portal, as well as by Gene Sperling, an official with the Biden administration, to hear Monitoring the introduction of the Covid-19 Relief Act. It is also building a toolkit of information in different languages to disseminate in the communities.
"I don't think there has been any other policy in decades that will reduce poverty and hunger like this," said Sergio Mata-Cisneros, domestic policy analyst at the group, which works with 250,000 activists.
Some proponents plan to go door-to-door to educate families. Many people are uncomfortable talking about their taxes, especially in a virtual environment or on the phone, said Jessica Brown, director of strategic initiatives at Detroit Community Development Advocates, which has more than 200 community organizations as members.
The organization leads the efforts of 40 local groups to reach 20,000 households by the end of October, to provide them with information, but also to try to provide them with free tax preparation experts or to help them use the IRS portal.
"This campaign will be successful because we are leveraging the organizations these people trust and already rely on to find information for other resources," said Brown.
"That's an important part of it – that trusting relationship with someone who already knows the needs of the residents," she continued. "This makes it easier for residents to overcome the 'Can I do this?' Hurdle or the barrier that prevents them from actually raising taxes."
A heavy lift
It will not be easy for the IRS and community groups to get many remaining non-applicants to register, especially after the intensive effort to get Americans on very low incomes to register to receive their stimulus checks.
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"Reach is just a lot harder," said Francine Lipman, a professor of tax law at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas who works with local groups.
Only two people filed a statement with Urban Upbound in New York City last Friday to claim the loan, and the IRS saw low turnout at its event in late June in some of its locations, despite the agency totaling more than 1,000 people in the 12 cities this weekend, said Simon.
To make matters worse, due to the coronavirus pandemic, some free tax preparation locations will remain closed, work virtually or have fewer employees, while others will not be able to work outside of the traditional filing season.
Also, the IRS non-filer portal is difficult to use on a cell phone and many low-income Americans don't have access to a computer, proponents say. Also, the information is only in English, although the agency says they are working on a Spanish language version. This means that community groups will have to do extra work to guide non-English speakers through the site.
Also, non-citizens who request the IRS the individual tax identification numbers (ITIN) they must apply for credit for their children who are citizens face long delays, Lipman said.
However, she is confident that more people will become aware of it once the $ 300 checks hit her friends and family's bank accounts later this week.
"Once we explain to them that you can get your money when you file your taxes, or that you can get that money during the year to help you with your daily expenses, that's the motivation," said Pat Smith. Program Director of the Nevada Free Taxes Coalition, which has two locations in Las Vegas that will help residents file their tax returns by mid-October. "Most of these people live on the fringes anyway. Every little bit that comes in monthly will help them."
The potential for $ 750 monthly credit for her three teenagers led Ivelisse Vasquez to the IRS lower Manhattan office last month to file her return. Vasquez, a cleaning lady who lost her job during the pandemic, saw information about the increased benefits on her phone. She said she could use the money to pay her rent and bills, as well as school supplies for her children.
"I brought everything with me," she said, patting a black shopping bag with her financial records, "so I hope I can get something."