The same rules applied to the first round of stimulus checks in 2020.
Will the IRS Offset Advanced Child Credits if I Owe Child Support?
The IRS wont offset the advance payments for any reason, including child support debt.
This post refers to advance child tax credit payments issued in 2021. For the most up-to-date info, check out ourrecent tax articles.
However, the advance payments are only half of the expanded credit for 2021.
The remaining half will be paid as a refund when youfile a tax returnnext year.
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This is essentially how things worked with the second and third stimulus checks.
Neither payment was offset for debt of any kind, including unpaid child support.
But people who qualified for the payment and didnt receive it had to file a 2020 tax return.
They got their payments with their tax refund as a Recovery Rebate Credit.
Can I Get My Exs Child Credits if They Owe Me Child Support?
Since the advance credits wont be garnished for child support, your monthly payments shouldnt be affected.
Doing so protects your half of the remaining credit from being offset.
Can the Credits Be Garnished for Other Debt?
The advance part of the credit cant be offset for money you owe the federal government.
If youowe back taxes, your monthly payments wont be reduced.
But the law doesnt prevent non-federal creditors from going after the advance credits.
Some states and financial institutions have opted to protect advance child credit payments from garnishment.
When Will the Child Credits Arrive?
The first advance child credits arescheduled for July 15.
Theyll continue on a monthly basis through December.
Robin Hartill is a certified financial planner and a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
She writes the Dear Penny personal finance advice column.
Send your tricky money questions to[email protected].
(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…
