Your money, talking taxes: Advanced child tax credit

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The pandemic has not only changed our way of life, it's also changed how we file taxes. Today's tax filings can be even more confusing. 

Samantha Dent, with Accounting Plus, is talking about the advanced child tax credit.

Parents who filed in 2020 noticed in July they started receiving payments based on how many dependents they had. Essentially what that was was the child tax credit we normally get on the tax return there was an act passed that some of that was coming upfront from July to December you were receiving monthly payments. Basically an advance of the credit from your tax return. but they also increased the child tax credit and so that advance which you might think so going to make the refund less cause they increased the credit it means most will get the same refund they normally get and they also got those payments ahead of time so from July to December they received those monthly amounts. 

Can you tell me who received them?

The child tax credit, anyone who was eligible to receive it was anyone who filed 2020 tax return and claimed a dependent under 17 so for parents with multiple children they got a credit amount per month based on the child's age. So anyone claiming a dependent got it and it was you know for anyone under 6 they got 300 per month and over 6 got 250 per month.

Does this have to be paid back?

So you are not really paying it back, but you have to put down on your tax return what you did receive. There is a select group of people who received the child tax credit but won't pay it back and they would be someone who claimed a dependent. Let's say mom and dad are divorced and one year I claim and the other year they claim. Lets say it's my year to claim and I receive the child tax credit but for 2021 I'm not claiming cause its not my year if your income is a certain level or below you won't have to pay it back.