STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Many families with children have been waiting to file their taxes until changes to the Child Tax Credit are finalized in Congress, but the IRS commissioner says there’s no need to wait.
Recently, the House of Representatives passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, which includes an expansion of the Child Tax Credit that would allow eligible taxpayers to claim additional refunds in the coming years.
IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told lawmakers last week that the IRS will handle those returns already filed by families with children and those filed before the tax credit is finalized.
“We will take care of getting any additional refunds to taxpayers who have already filed. They won’t need to take additional steps,” he said, according to public congressional records.
He said that the IRS is ready to make changes for taxpayers who file before any changes to the child tax credit are finalized in Congress, similar to how the agency automatically adjusted the returns of some unemployed people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
At the time, people were told that the agency would automatically make the needed changes so taxpayers didn’t need to file amended returns to reap benefits from changing tax policy.
The changes to the credit, which were passed by the House of Representatives on Jan. 31, are still awaiting a Senate vote.
The bipartisan bill, called the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, passed by a vote of 357-70, and it is unclear when it will come up for a vote in the Senate.
If passed, the changes would make more of the credit available to lower-income families, and more people would get a refund check.
Under the existing program, households earning $200,000 or less — or $400,000 for couples — with children ages 16 and under are eligible for a $2,000 tax credit per child, but only $1,600 of that amount is refundable, meaning taxpayers can claim that money as a refund even if they don’t owe…
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