The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department last week announced that $15 billion worth of expanded Child Tax Credits that were approved under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan were issued to approximately thirty-five million American families.

Of those highly anticipated payments, eighty-six percent were delivered via direct deposit, while the rest headed out as paper checks that will be delivered by the post office.

As millions of families now can spend this newest government-issued cash windfall as they please, many are now wondering when the next payments will arrive. As outlined in Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, the government will issue the next batch of checks on August 13. Following that date, future payments will be disbursed on September 15, October 15, November 15, and December 15.

Millions of struggling families can thank Biden’s legislation for the cash injection, as the law now enables parents to collect as much as $3,600 per year for a child under the age of six and up to $3,000 for children between ages six and seventeen. This all means that a $250 or a $300 payment for each child will be deposited into the bank accounts of eligible parents on a monthly basis through the end of 2021.

In addition, eighteen-year-old dependents and full-time college students who are under the age of twenty-four will make their parents eligible for a one-time $500 payment.

Extending the CTC

Take note that the current rollout of the child tax credit is expected to end in December, but there has already been increasing talk about extending the benefits for years to come. If Biden’s American Families Plan ever gets approval from Congress, these payments would continue to enter eligible parents’ bank accounts through the year 2025.

“Across the nation, organizations that advocate for children (are) using social media to explain how the Child Tax Credit will cut child poverty and why we must extend it through the American Families Plan,” Biden said in a statement, adding that roughly ninety percent of all children in the United States will see direct benefits from the monthly payments.

Fourth Round of Stimulus

Meanwhile, there seems to be growing momentum regarding a fourth round of stimulus, as millions of Americans remain stuck in financial distress and have trouble paying for basic everyday needs like food and rent.

This past spring, twenty-one Democratic senators signed off on a letter to President Biden that supports sending out to Americans recurring stimulus payments.

“While we are pleased that the American Rescue Plan included a one-time direct payment and an extension of federal unemployment insurance programs, a single direct payment will not last long for most families,” the senators wrote. “This crisis is far from over, and families deserve certainty that they can put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.”

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

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