(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser joins the Biden-Harris Administration in highlighting Child Tax Credit Awareness Day and amplifying the new Child Tax Credit sign up tool to help get working families relief. The expanded Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan provides $3,000 per child for children 6-17 years old and $3,600 per child for children under the age of 6 years old to families making less than $150,000 or single parent families making less than $112,500 annually. Payments will be disbursed beginning July 15, 2021.
Families who did not make enough to be required to file taxes in 2019 or 2020 should use the tool to get the tax credit and monthly payments starting July 15.
“We want every eligible family in DC to benefit from President Biden’s expansion of the Child Tax Credit, ” said Mayor Bowser. “Whether it is rent relief or the expanded Child Tax Credit, we know that these investments will only help our families if people know about them and know how to access them. Let’s work together to spread the word in DC and get all families the relief they need to recover.”
Families who filed tax returns for 2019 or 2020 or signed up for a stimulus check from the IRS will receive this tax relief automatically. Families will receive the Child Tax Credit monthly via direct deposit or mail until the end of 2021. For every child 6-17 years old, families will get $250 each month, and for every child under 6 years old, families will get $300 each month.
The expanded Child Tax Credit enacted in the American Rescue Plan is only for 2021; however, as proposed in the American Families Plan, relief would be extended for another four years.
“I am proud to support the importance of the Child Tax Credit in reducing childhood poverty in the District,” said Director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs and Executive Director of Thrive by Five Dr. Faith Gibson Hubbard. “We are constantly looking to bring our residents resources to help create pathways to the middleclass. This tax credit embodies DC Values to the core and has been a collaborative effort with our federal partners to ensure that all Washingtonians are given a fair shot.”
The COVID-19 pandemic intensified economic inequities in the District, among families and childcare. To address these disparities and make DC’s prosperity more inclusive, investments in the Mayor’s #FairShot FY22 budget proposal include:
Child Care
- $68M to increase access to high-quality affordable childcare and provide incentives and scholarships for early childhood education teachers
Families
- $2.7M to pilot the Career Mobility Action Plan for 300 families to pursue their employment path to the middle class while ensuring their household costs do not exceed their income
- $3.8M to expand DC’s Opportunity Accounts matched-savings program to help up to 600 residents a year save for college, continuing education, job training, first-time home purchases, small business development, and more
- $15M to provide cash assistance to individuals and families who don’t qualify for federal unemployment