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AUGUSTA — The next advance Child Tax Credit came out Oct. 15, and advocates across the state are making sure that those who qualify get the credit.
Virtually all Maine families qualify for the credit, but households that don’t typically file taxes may not know the extra income is for them.
Personalized free help is available through local organizations:
● Capital Area CA$H: (207) 621-3430
● Wabanaki CA$H: (207) 866-6546
● Western Maine CA$H: (207) 778-7954
● Non-English speakers can call ProsperityME: (207) 797-7890
Navigators will help to determine eligibility and help families to sign up to receive CTC payments at GetCTC.org/MEJ. Families can use this portal until Nov. 15. Families can still claim the credit after Nov. 15, when they file taxes and receive the credit in their tax refund. For information about free tax preparation, visit cashmaine.org or call 211.
Through the American Rescue Plan, eligibility for the tax credit has expanded and almost all families qualify for up to $300 per child per month. Anyone who has a child with a Social Security number can get the credit, even if they don’t have one themselves. It is not necessary to be a tax filer to claim the credit.
Advocates from teachers to medical professionals to tax advocates and economic justice groups — many of them members of a newly formed Credit to Kids Collaborative — are reaching out to communities across Maine to help families claim the credit.
“Our CA$H Navigators are ready to help anyone in the state of Maine to get the Child Tax Credit,” said New Ventures Maine Statewide Asset Manager and CA$H Maine Program Manager Janet Smith. “We want the credit to make as much of a positive impact on families and children as possible, especially when big purchases such as home heating fuel and snow tires are coming up.”
Parents who are immigrants whose children have Social Security Numbers can claim credits, but may need to obtain Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers.
“Immigrant families who are less familiar with the U.S. tax system have a harder time understanding what they are eligible for,” said Claude Rwaganje, executive director of ProsperityME. “ProsperityME is invested in making sure that eligible immigrant families receive the information they need to apply for the monthly Child Income Tax Credit, a much-needed relief to lessen the financial burden many of us have been experiencing.”
The Credit to Kids Collaborative is a coalition of organizations committed to helping Maine families get the Child Tax Credit to support them with daily needs, housing, child care and other costs.
