A Notice To File Taxes Before The May 17 Deadline

Press release from the Office of Congressman Mondaire Jones:

May 10, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman Mondaire Jones (D-NY) urged all families in New York’s 17th Congressional District to file their taxes before the upcoming May 17th deadline to ensure they benefit from the expanded, fully refundable, and cash advanced Child Tax Credit payments they are entitled to.

As part of the American Rescue Plan, which Congressman Jones helped pass, eligible families can receive monthly payments of up to $300 per child beginning as soon as July. The best way for eligible families to ensure they receive their payments is to file a 2020 tax return – even if they don’t have earnings to report or don’t normally file – because the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) needs information from tax returns in order to calculate and issue advanced monthly payments.

In New York’s 17th Congressional District:

• 64.8% of children, totalling 122,000 children, will benefit from expanded and fully refundable Child Tax Credit
• Approximately 34,900 households will receive an average benefit of $3,300.
• Families with children in poverty will receive $5,800 on average.
• 11,700 children will be lifted out of poverty, including 4,100 kids under the age of six.
• 1,500 children will be lifted out of deep poverty, meaning living in a household with a total cash income below 50 percent of its poverty threshold.

“Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, which I helped pass, we are cutting child poverty in half in America by expanding the Child Tax Credit while making it fully refundable and cash advanced,” said Congressman Mondaire Jones. “This will be life-changing for families in my district and across the country. But expanding the Child Tax Credit cannot be a one time thing - we need to make it permanent. No child in the richest nation in the world should be living in poverty. We have the power to end child poverty in America and we must do so. I’ll continue fighting to make this Child Tax Credit expansion permanent.”

How Much are the Child Tax Credit Advance Monthly Payments?
The American Rescue Plan expanded the Child Tax Credit to up to $3,600 per child for children ages 0 to 5 and $3,000 per child for children ages 6 to 17.

The American Rescue Plan also authorized advance monthly payments of the Child Tax Credit through December 2021. Beginning as soon as July and running through December, qualifying families can get up to:

• $300 a month per child for children ages 0 to 5.
• $250 a month per child for children ages 6 to 17.

Families will get their remaining expanded Child Tax Credit when they file their 2021 tax return.

Who Qualifies for the Child Tax Credit Advance Monthly Payments?

• Families will qualify for a full credit if their income is below $75,000 for single filers, $112,000 for people filing as head of household, or $150,000 for people who are married and filing jointly.
• To be eligible, children must:
• Have a Social Security number
• Live with you for at least half of the year
• Be under age 18 as of December 31, 2021
• Be claimed on your tax return
• Children are eligible if they are your children, adopted children, stepchildren, half-siblings, foster children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews, or certain other relatives. The adult filing taxes must have a Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.

How Can Families Get Help Preparing and Filing their Taxes for Free?
Free tax preparation services are generally available until the tax filing deadline. Families should file their taxes before the May 17th deadline even if they do not have earnings to report or do not normally file, because the IRS needs information from tax returns in order to calculate and issue advance monthly payments.

• Families can file taxes for free online through the IRS Free File program at https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/.
• Families where the parent or caregiver is aged 50 or older can use this AARP tool to find free tax help near them at https://secure.aarp.org/applications/VMISLocator/searchTaxAideLocations.action.

About Mondaire: Mondaire Jones is the 33-year-old Congressman from New York’s 17th District, serving Westchester and Rockland Counties. He serves on the House Judiciary, Education and Labor, and Ethics Committees and is the first openly gay, Black member of Congress. A product of East Ramapo public schools, Mondaire was raised in Section 8 housing and on food stamps in the Village of Spring Valley by a single mother who worked multiple jobs to provide for their family. He later graduated from Stanford University, worked at the Department of Justice during the Obama Administration, and graduated from Harvard Law School. He is a co-founder of the nonprofit Rising Leaders, Inc. and has previously served on the NAACP’s National Board of Directors and on the board of the New York Civil Liberties Union. Most recently, Mondaire worked as a litigator in the Westchester County Law Department. In November, Mondaire was unanimously elected by his colleagues to be the Freshman Representative to Leadership, making him the youngest member of the Democratic House leadership team. In December, Jones was appointed a Deputy Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and became a Co-Chair of the LGBTQ Equality Caucus. Mondaire was born and raised in Rockland and resides in Westchester.

This press release was produced by the Office of Congressman Mondaire Jones. The views expressed here are the author’s own.