Barbara Lee
Historic Child Tax Credit Will Start Delivering Checks to East Bay Families in July, Barbara Lee says
The expanded Child Tax Credit will provide $3,000 for children ages 6-17 and $3,600 for children under 6. For the first time, families can receive the credit in monthly payments starting in July. Nearly all working families are eligible for the payments, even those who have not filed tax returns.
On Monday, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) began to urge East Bay families to apply for the new Child Tax Credit – a provision of the American Rescue Plan that will start delivering checks to eligible families as soon as next month.
Congresswoman Lee held a press conference Monday at the Unity Council at 1900 Fruitvale Ave., in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood to provide information about the tax credit and the application process.
“Even before the pandemic, 2 out of 5 people in this country – about 140 million of us – were poor or low-income, just $400 or less away from financial ruin,” Congresswoman Lee said. “It doesn’t have to be this way. Poverty is a policy choice, and we can choose to end it. This historic tax credit is one step towards dismantling poverty in America and ensuring the basic needs of all children are met.”
The expanded Child Tax Credit will provide $3,000 for children ages 6-17 and $3,600 for children under 6. For the first time, families can receive the credit in monthly payments starting in July. Nearly all working families are eligible for the payments, even those who have not filed tax returns.
Experts say the tax credit could lift more than 5 million children out of poverty and cut childhood poverty in America in half – if low-income families who don’t usually file tax returns are aware of the credit and apply. Eligible families that already filed returns for 2019 or 2020 will automatically get the credit. However, more than 3 million children live in households that are at risk of missing out on the payments if they don’t apply.
Parents can sign up at ChildTaxCredit.gov. The site will ask for social security numbers for the parents and children, a reliable mailing address, and an email address.
In Lee’s East Bay district, an estimated 108,600 children stand to benefit from the tax credit. Congresswoman Lee’s press conference is part of a national Child Tax Credit Awareness Day announced by the White House to spread the word about the tax credit and encourage families to apply.
Alex Katz is a communications director in Rep. Barbara Lee’s press office.
