The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is gearing up to mail out millions of checks for the first advance of the Child Tax Credit payment. The second half of their payment will be made available for those who qualify when they complete their tax filings. Tap or click here to avoid bogus payment offers. Are you still not sure if you qualify? The IRS developed a handy tool to check your eligibility, what you need and how it works.

Here’s the backstory

The latest benefit to come your way revolves around the Child Tax Credit. For each qualifying child under age six, you will receive an advance paid in six monthly payments. “Important changes to the Child Tax Credit will help many families get advance payments of the Child Tax Credit starting in the summer of 2021. The IRS will pay half the total credit amount in advance monthly payments. You will claim the other half when you file your 2021 income tax return,” the IRS explained. To help families determine if they qualify for the advance payment, the IRS developed an eligibility checker. To see if you can claim your benefit, you’ll need:

Your tax return filed for 2020, or your 2019 tax return if you haven’t filed for 2020 yet.If you don’t have a copy of the return, you can estimate the total income from your tax return through income statements such as W-2s and 1099s, or amount of any expenses or adjustments to your income.

The IRS also explained that you can claim the child tax credit even if you aren’t working right now or didn’t work in 2020.

How it works

During the eligibility verification process, you will be asked several questions. If you claimed the child tax credit on your return in 2019 or 2020 and live in any of the 50 states (including Washington DC), you may automatically qualify. There could be additional questions to determine your status depending on your answers. You should only check your eligibility through the official IRS website. Whenever a government payout is being made, cybercriminals and scammers are looking to steal your money. Don’t give out your details to anybody you don’t trust, and don’t fall for scams where people say that they can help you get more money or get it faster. Follow the link below to check eligibility.

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