The public health catastrophe caused by the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a devastating economic crisis for low and middle-income Americans, whose income was cut off unexpectedly when businesses across the country shut down. It fundamentally altered how people lived and worked, posing several issues for families.
The federal Treasury Department provided help in the form of direct stimulus checks as well as assistance to enterprises, states, cities, and local governments.
These stimulus cheques provided the only source of income for millions of Americans during the critical period following the pandemic’s onset at the start of 2020, ensuring that people could put food on the table, keep their houses, ensure the provision of utilities, and avoid becoming engulfed in debt.
Within a year, the federal government’s monetary wings, the Bureau of Fiscal Service, the Treasury Department, and the Internal Revenue Service, issued three stimulus checks.
Payments from the third stimulus check, known as the Economic Impact Payments, are still being made.
Other emergency measures taken by the federal government include employment support, which began in March of last year.
Unemployment benefits were also exempt from federal taxes, providing relief to people who lost their jobs as soon as the pandemic began.
The Child Tax Credit Stimulus Check Is Still Only Federal Assistance
The federal administration increased the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $3,600 per year, with half of it paid out in monthly stimulus payments between July and December 2022. Families with children benefited from the extended coverage.
The CTC stimulus checks greatly decreased poverty by boosting the wages of CTC recipients and expanding access to credit to a large number of new households.
The credit amount was significantly increased by President Joe Biden’s signing of the American Rescue Plan Act in March 2021.
For families with children under the age of six, the maximum CTC stimulus check increased from $2,000 to $3,600, while the total CTC stimulus payment for children aged six to seventeen was $3,000.
The CTC stimulus checks significantly reduced poverty by increasing CTC users’ wages and expanding credit availability to a large number of new households.
President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act in March 2021, which increased the credit amount considerably.
The maximum CTC stimulus check for families with children under the age of six grew from $2,000 to $3,600, while the total CTC stimulus payment for children aged six to seventeen was $3,000.
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The credit was made refundable for the first time ever. As a result, low-income households received their full benefits well ahead of schedule, as CTC stimulus checks are issued after-tax returns are filed.
The date for the 2021 returns was in the first quarter of 2022. The American Rescue Plan Act’s scope and influence were greatly enlarged.
Depending on their age, families received a monthly stimulus check of $300 to $360 per child. For the first time, children as young as 17 became eligible for CTC payments; previously, the cut-off age had been set at 16.
