The IRS has opened an online portal to enable taxpayers to unenroll from receiving advance payments of the 2021 child tax credit (CTC) under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
The new child tax credit update portal allows parents to view their eligibility, view their expected CTC advance payments, and, if they wish to do so, unenroll from receiving advance payments. Parents may want to unenroll if, for instance, they expect the amount of tax they owe to be greater than their CTC refund when they file their 2021 tax return.
For tax year 2021 only, ARPA increased the child tax credit amount to up to $3,000 for each qualifying child between age 6 and 17 at the end of the 2021 tax year, and $3,600 for each qualifying child under age 6 at the end of the 2021 tax year. ARPA also made the child tax credit for 2021 fully refundable if the taxpayer (or spouse, on a joint return) has a principal place of abode in the U.S. for more than one-half of the 2021 tax year. Learn more.