October 26, 2021 by Clarissa Ayala
November 15, 2021 Deadline for Non-Tax Filing Families to Use Child Tax Credit Portal
The deadline to sign up to receive monthly advanced Child Tax Credit payments is November 15.
As part of the American Rescue Plan, the IRS started sending advanced Child Tax Credit payments in July. These payments represent half of the total Child Tax Credit eligible families would receive after filing their 2021 tax return.
Qualifying families are eligible for:
- $300/month for children ages 5 and under at the end of 2021; and
- $250/month for children ages 6 through 17 at the end of 2021.
Most families have already signed up and received their first four payments. If you’ve filed tax returns for 2019 or 2020, or if you signed up with the Non-Filer tool last year to receive a stimulus check from the Internal Revenue Service, you should get the monthly Child Tax Credit automatically. You do not need to sign up or take any action.
If you have not received any advanced Child Tax Credit payments and are eligible, the non-filer sign-up tool is easy to use on a mobile phone and is also available in Spanish.
Why should I use this tool?
Use this tool to report your qualifying children born before 2021, if you:
- Are not required to file a 2020 tax return, didn’t file one and don’t plan to; and
- Have a main home in the United States for more than half of the year.
Also, if you did not get the full amounts of the first and second stimulus, you may use this tool if you:
- Are not required to file a 2020 tax return, didn’t file and don’t plan to, and
- Want to claim the first two stimulus payments (also called the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit) and get your third one.
Do not use this tool if you:
- Filed or plan to file a 2020 tax return; or
- Claimed all your dependents on a 2019 tax return, including by reporting their information in 2020 using the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool; or
- Were married at the end of 2020, unless you use the tool with your spouse and include your spouse’s information; or
- Are a resident of a U.S. territory; or
- Do not have a main home in the United States for more than half the year, and if you are married, your spouse does not have a main home in the United States for more than half the year; or
- Do not have a qualifying child born before 2021, and the child had a Social Security number issued before May 17, 2021.
Here’s a link to the non-filer sign-up tool: Non-filer Sign-up Tool
Will this affect my SNAP benefits?
If you aren’t already signed up, you can still sign up to get the advanced Child Tax Credit. You won’t lose your benefits if you do. These payments do not count as income for any family, so signing up won’t affect your eligibility for other federal benefits, like SNAP and WIC.
What if I never got my stimulus payments?
You are also eligible to apply for the Recovery Rebate Credit, also known as stimulus payments, as part of this process. If you have not signed up and used the Non-Filer Tool to receive your advanced Child Tax Credit payments, you will also alert the IRS where to send your Recovery Rebate Credit.
Lone Star Legal Aid is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income and underserved populations. Lone Star Legal Aid serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines that reside in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties of southwest Arkansas. Lone Star Legal Aid focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety and stability, health and well‐being; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, like those with disabilities, or who are elderly, homeless, or have limited English language skills. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at https://www.lonestarlegal.org.
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