Check Your Bank Accounts - New Stimulus Checks Hit This Week!

This week, 39 million households will find a little extra spending money in their bank accounts. Starting on Thursday (7/15), monthly stimulus checks will begin to be sent out to eligible families.

The payments are part of the expansion of the Federal Child Tax Credit that was included in the president's American Rescue Plan, the same $1.9 trillion COVID relief package that brought many a third stimulus check. Now, instead of one big relief check, qualified recipients will get a check of up to $300 every month for each child that they have.

Thanks to the credit, for every child under the age of six, families will get $300 a month, and they'll receive $250 monthly for each kid ages 6 to 17. That's not all though, they will also get a tax credit next year - $1,500 for each kid six to 17 and $1,800 for each child under six. You can get an idea of how much you'll be getting from it with this online calculator.

The checks will go out on the 15th of every month unless that day falls on a holiday or a weekend. For most recipients, the payments will be direct deposits that arrive this week. If you filed your 2019 or 2020 tax return or signed up for stimulus payments using the IRS's non-filer tool, you don't have to do anything more, the money will be sent to you automatically. There is also an option to opt out of the monthly payments and instead get the money as a lump sum with next year's tax return.

The checks will go in full to single parents making up to $75,000, heads of households earning up to $112,500, or joint filers making up to $150,000 a year. The hope is that the tax credit cuts child poverty nearly in half, potentially bringing more than five million kids out of poverty.

While the monthly checks are set to be delivered through December, President Biden is looking to extend it for longer. In a tweet, the White House recently stated they want the benefit around for "years and years to come."

You can learn more about the child tax credit here.