November 29, 2021
Today is the last day you can make any changes to your Child Tax Credit payment.
The IRS says if you need to opt out, get a direct deposit instead of a paper check, change your bank account information, update your mailing address or correct your 2021 income level — November 29th at 11:59 p.m. eastern time… is …it.
Let me be very clear – as it stands today – your last monthly Child Tax Credit payment will be issued on December 15th. There will be no more monthly payments after that. That’s because the monthly child tax credit payments will expire. To extend them, congress needs to pass a new law. Currently an extension to monthly child tax credit payment is included in the Build Back Better bill. Yes that bill has passed the House of Representatives, but it’s fate is very unclear in the Senate. So if you like these payments and you want them to continue in 2022, you should probably call your Senator and tell him or her to vote yes on this bill. And if you think these payments are useless you can call your Senator and tell him or her that too.
Also, the option to add a 2021 baby to the monthly Child Tax Credit payment system is *not* available and it this point, it’s not going to happen for 2021. But don’t freak out. If you qualify, you will still be able to get the child tax credit for your new baby *in full* when you file your 2021 taxes and claim that new baby as a dependent.
Lastly – for all of you received the monthly Child Tax Credit payment, as long as you financially qualify and none of your kids have turned 18 at any point this year, you will claim the remaining 50% of your child tax credit on your 2021 taxes. It’s important for you to understand, that credit *can* be offset by taxes or other specific debts owed.
If you are a true non-filer –meaning you’re not required to file a tax return because of your low or no income status — and missed the deadline to sign up for the payments, you can still claim the full child tax credit by filing a simple 2021 tax return. All the instructions are on irs.gov
If you switch off claiming your child with the other parent, if you are wondering if you’re going to have to pay this money back, what types of debt can be garnished from the 50% credit balance and so much more – go to the child tax credit category on my page i have a 10-part q & a series answering your most popular questions.
Read more info from the IRS here.
PLUS
The so-called CMS Covid19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, is on pause temporarily in 10 states.
This comes after a 32-page ruling came down today from a federal district court judge in Missouri. The judge granted a preliminary injunction as this case continues to play out. But the pause – only applies to the 10 states included in this particular lawsuit. Those states are — Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
The judge says it was necessary to pause this mandate as the case continues to play out because he says it’s likely those 10 states will eventually prove that the centers for Medicare and Medicaid overstepped its authority and continuing the vaccine mandate would likely cause the healthcare facilities themselves to suffer staffing shortages.
You’ll remember the CMS mandate requires employees at health care facilities who receive money from Medicare or Medicaid to be fully vaccinated by January 4th. At this point that deadline will continue for other states not included in this lawsuit.
It’s important to note there are several other lawsuits from other states over this same CMS mandate. But not every judge agrees with this one in Missouri. One federal district court judge in Florida already decided *not* to block the CMS mandate as the case plays out in her courtroom.
And again, each of the federal vaccine mandates are separate. Just because one is being paused does *not* mean that all of them are paused or stopped.
Read the ruling from Missouri here.
