Source: United States Senator for Colorado Michael Bennet
Download the Video HERE
Denver – On the first day of tax-filing season, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet reminded Coloradans to file their tax returns to claim their expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC), as well as the second half of their expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) if they received advance payments last year. Eligible families who did not receive advance CTC payments can claim their full CTC benefit by filing their tax return.
“Last year, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan, which dramatically expanded tax credits for families and workers, including the Child Tax Credit, ” said Bennet in the video. “If you received advanced monthly payments for the Child Tax Credit last year, your family can claim the other half of your expanded credit, up to $1,800 per child, by filing your tax return.”
Also today, researchers released a groundbreaking new study finding that direct monthly payments like the CTC increase brain activity, a key marker of cognitive ability, for children in low-income families. The Baby’s First Years team, which is comprised of experts from six universities across the United States, found that after 12 months of cash payments, infants in low-income families were more likely to show brain activity patterns associated with thinking and learning development.
The American Rescue Plan expanded the Child Tax Credit based on Bennet’s American Family Act. Over the last 6 months, millions of families have received monthly installments of the CTC, including 27 million children who were previously excluded from the full tax credit. In Colorado alone, the CTC has benefitted more than one million kids and has cut child poverty nearly in half nationwide.
This month, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will send letters to the tens of millions of families who received advance CTC payments — including many who might not typically file a tax return — to provide information on their total payments and remind them to file taxes to claim the other half of their expanded credit. Many families and workers will also be eligible for the expanded EITC and CDCTC. Most people can file taxes for free through the IRS’s Free File program. Additionally, families with incomes below $58,000 can receive help filing their taxes through the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites. Coloradans who qualify for help filing their taxes can visit Colorado VITA for assistance.
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