2022 Tax: How Expats Can Avail Child Tax Credit
Child Tax Credit or CTC is one of the prime features that US expats can avail of from the comfort of their home. This is one of the basic privileges that every US citizen and expats is entitled to. Seeking guidance from a personal tax consultancy service in Toronto is the best option to avail of the Child Tax Credit without much hassle.
What is Child Tax Credit and how can you avail that?
Now coming to the context of Child Tax Credit or CTC, there have been some revisions brought in lately that you must be aware of. As per the modified policies, parents now can claim advance payments of the corresponding year’s CTC. For example, parents can claim as much as $300 per month for each child who is below the age limit of six. The amount moderates down to $250 per child each month for each child between the age group of six and seventeen.
As a result, you may not be able to claim the entire amount of CTCt on your IRS returns if you already have claimed and received the advance payments as discussed above. If you need further illumination on this topic, please contact US tax consultants in Toronto.
Now let’s see how you can avail the Child Tax Credit while living abroad.
American expats living abroad are usually able to claim the tax credit and conceivably the recent revisions allow the same as well. However, there are some eligibility criteria that you must fulfill to claim the Child Tax Credit.
First of all, every expat can claim the regular Child Tax Credit for their qualifying children as discussed above. However, to avail the perks that the American Rescue Plan adds to the currently updated 2021 Child Tax Credit, you must have stayed in America for at least half of the year )for which you are applying the Child Tax Credit).
This implies that unless your primary residence (home address) was in the US for six months in 2021, you will not qualify for the additional credit amounts or advance monthly payments.
In case you live in the US but your offspring stays abroad, the rule stays the same i.e. your child has to stay in the US for six months with the primary residence in America.
Additionally, any credit you claim will only be liable to a partial refund.
The new policies regarding the Child Tax Credit permit expats to draw up to a credit of $2000 per child on the annual tax return. For more info on this, please get in touch with expats Tax Consultants in Toronto.
