Here's What You Need to Remember: Recent studies are also pointing to the likelihood that the child tax credits will give a major boost to the U.S. economy. In fact, an analysis released by the Niskanen Center showed that the recurring checks will help drive $27.6 billion in new household spending, support more than half a million new jobs, and vastly improve the economic outlook of rural regions.

Eligible parents of tens of millions of U.S. children are only days away from getting their hands on the second batch of cash payments from the expanded child tax credits.

One important note to take away is that this upcoming payment will arrive on August 13, which is different from the other months that all have pay dates on the fifteenth. This slight adjustment is due to August 15 falling on a Sunday.

Due to President Joe Biden’s ambitious American Rescue Plan, the federal government is now allowing eligible parents to receive as much as $3,600 per year for a child under the age of six and up to $3,000 for children between ages six and seventeen. This all means that a $250 or a $300 payment for each child will be deposited into the bank accounts of parents each and every month through December.

Not to be outdone, eighteen-year-old dependents and full-time college students who are under the age of twenty-four will make their parents eligible for a one-time $500 payment. 

CTC Extension?

As most people are now aware, the current rollout of the child tax credits will end at the end of 2021. But there already has been plenty of chatter regarding extending the payments for years to come.

Biden had previously noted that about 90 percent of all children in the United States will experience direct benefits from the recurring monthly checks.

“This tax cut will give our nation’s hardworking families with children a little more breathing room when it comes to putting food on the table, paying the bills, and making ends meet,” Biden said in a statement. “Across the nation, organizations that advocate for children (are) using social media to explain how the Child Tax Credit will cut child poverty and why we must extend it through the American Families Plan.”

If the nearly $2 trillion American Families Plan receives Congress approval, then the benefits will be extended through the year 2025.  

Economic Boost

Recent studies are also pointing to the likelihood that the child tax credits will give a major boost to the U.S. economy. In fact, an analysis released by the Niskanen Center showed that the recurring checks will help drive $27.6 billion in new household spending, support more than half a million new jobs, and vastly improve the economic outlook of rural regions.

“While only enacted for one year, the expanded CTC is expected to reduce child poverty by 40 percent and support investments in children that promote family stability,” the center stated in a release.

“Less appreciated, however, is how child benefits like the CTC can serve as a powerful economic stimulus for local communities given the greater consumption needs of households with children,” it continued.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Washington state-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn. This article is being republished due to reader interest.

Image: Reuters