IRS to roll out payments for $3,000 child tax credit in July

The IRS will start sending monthly payments to families from the new $3,000 child tax credit starting in July. 

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig confirmed the timeline during congressional testimony Tuesday, telling the Senate Finance Committee, “If we end up not being on track for some unforeseen situation, we will advise you and the committee.”

The expansion of the child tax credit was included in the $1.9 trillion stimulus package President Biden signed into law in March. The law provides families with $3,000 per child between the ages of 6 and 17 and $3,600 per child under the age of 6 for the 2021 tax year.

The credit will be made available to individuals who make under $75,000 or couples who combined make less than $150,000. The payments phase out as incomes rise and caps out at individuals earning $95,000 and couples earning $170,000. 

The payments will be made in monthly intervals and will be made through December. Those with older children will see the payments come in in $250 increments, while those with children under the age of 6 will receive their payments in bunches of $300. 

People above the threshold can still get the regular tax credit, which would provide $2,000 per child under the age of 17 for people making less than $200,000 annually or couples making below $400,000.

Rettig had warned that the IRS might not be able to start sending the payments in July, given that a prolonged tax season had his agency underwater.