The claim: IRS will give $300 to children under 6 monthly starting in July
A June 9 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claims children will receive hundreds of dollars each month from a federal agency starting in July.
“In 2024, the IRS will make a $300 direct deposit payout on the 15th of each month to those under six,” reads text in the post, in what appears to be a screenshot of a Google search result. “Those aged six to seventeen will receive $250 every month. CTC Monthly Payments 2024 from the IRS are expected to go into impact beginning on July 15, 2024, for all eligible individuals.”
The post received nearly 100 shares in just over a week. Other versions of the claim spread widely on Facebook and Threads.
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Our rating: False
The claim is wrong on several fronts. It describes a program under the American Rescue Plan that provided advance child tax credit payments through direct deposit between July and December 2021 – but that money went to parents, not directly to children. There are no such programs going into effect in July 2024, experts told USA TODAY.
Biden’s 2025 budget seeks return of advance child tax credits
There is no mention on the IRS website of a program matching the one described in the post, and tax experts told USA TODAY the claim is false. The website listed as a source in the apparent Google screenshot links to a domain based in India that is not a credible source.
“There were advanced payments for tax year 2021 under the American Rescue Plan, but those COVID relief provisions expired,” said Lisa Greene-Lewis, a tax expert for TurboTax.
That program offered up to $300 per month for children under 6 and up to $250 per month for children between the ages of 6 and 17. The direct deposits began on July 15, 2021, and ended on December 15, 2021. And, of course, that money went to parents, not directly to the children as this claim asserts.
Congress hasn’t passed legislation to implement a similar program in 2024, said Andy Phillips, director of The Tax Institute at H&R Block.
The House passed a bill in January that would have increased the refundable child tax credit, but the measure didn’t receive a vote in the Senate.
Fact check: Trump tax cuts added less than $2 trillion to debt, nowhere near 25%
Taxpayers with dependent children can still receive a nonrefundable tax credit of up to $2,000 per qualifying child, which is deducted from what they owe on taxes. Eligible taxpayers can receive a refundable credit of up to $1,600 per child under the additional child tax credit.
President Joe Biden’s proposed 2025 budget sought to reinstate the expanded child tax credit of 2021 and allow families to receive their tax credits through monthly payments. Biden’s budget is unlikely to succeed in the Republican-controlled House but gives voters a signal of the president’s priorities as he seeks re-election in November, as USA TODAY reported.
USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims related to the IRS and taxes, including false assertions that new stimulus checks were available in March, that there are no laws requiring American citizens to pay income taxes and an incorrect implication that President Joe Biden’s plan would give all Americans $400 every month for two years.
USA TODAY reached out to users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources:
- Andy Phillips, June 14, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- Lisa Greene-Lewis, June 14, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- IRS, accessed June 13, website search
- IRS, May 7, 2021 Child Tax Credit and Advance Child Tax Credit Payments – Topic A: General Information
- IRS, April 16, IRS: Monthly Child Tax Credit payments begin
- IRS, June 30, 2021, IRS: Families receiving monthly Child Tax Credits payments can now update their direct deposit information
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