The wave of stimulus checks that the IRS issues 3 weeks from tomorrow will be a little different than the last several tranches of payments it’s sent out.
For one thing, this will be the last batch of CTC stimulus checks in 2021. The federal government has sent these out, totaling billions of dollars, every month since July. And for most people, the checks have totaled a few hundred dollars, at most. That brings us to another thing that will be different about the checks coming on the 15th of December. For some recipients, December’s CTC payment will be much bigger than normal, totaling perhaps as much as $1,800.
You Might Get A Lump-Sum Stimulus Check In December
December’s stimulus payment will actually be their first child tax credit stimulus check.
Some people signed up late to get the child tax credit advance payment this year. Congress structured an expansion of the credit a bit creatively when it passed the $1.9 trillion stimulus law earlier this year. We’re still in a pandemic, so lawmakers decided to give people a way to get next year’s tax credit early.
Half of the credit comes now, in the form of advance checks. The other half, families will get when they file their federal taxes in 2022.
Instead of 6 checks totaling as much as $1,800 per child for each child under age 6, though, the parents we noted above are poised to get a lump sum advance payment in December. Provided, of course, they signed up with the IRS in time.
