Child Tax Credit 2021: Payments, how much, dates and opting out

About 35 million U.S. families with 60 million children were sent the first monthly check for the Child Tax Credit on July 15. That federal benefit is providing about $15 billion in cash to families each month, but plenty of questions are arising about eligibility, the amount of the payments and whether families should opt out. 

The Child Tax Credit (CTC) "has been in place for decades, but sending it out monthly and sending it out automatically is a new activity for the IRS," said Radha Seshagiri, director of public policy and systems change for the financial nonprofit SaverLife. "While many people are savvy, there are questions about eligibility and misconceptions about this brand-new program." Some people might not be aware that they are eligible, with a recent SaverLife survey finding that almost a third of respondents had heard only a little or nothing about the CTC. Among the most likely to miss out on the assistance are low-income households that aren't required to file federal tax returns, possibly because many of these families didn't qualify for the credit prior to changes in the tax law through the American Rescue Plan.