Child Tax Credit

[God is a Husker]

Have not read the thread and idk if I will because it will probably just make me angry.

I have a JD and specialized in Tax. I was a Lawyer that specialized in tax related issues (mostly with AG and small business) for a few years before I moved to the business world.


I can sum up this entire theater with one quote from Animal Farm that sums up Federal Government spending.

"The farm had had a fairly successful year, but was still short of money."


Joe Biden is responsible for 35% of total United States Government debt and he has been POTUS for 7 months. Buy Cake while you can because the bread lines are a comin at this rate.

 

[BIG TONE SOPRANO]

Have not read the thread and idk if I will because it will probably just make me angry.

I have a JD and specialized in Tax. I was a Lawyer that specialized in tax related issues (mostly with AG and small business) for a few years before I moved to the business world.


I can sum up this entire theater with one quote from Animal Farm that sums up Federal Government spending.

"The farm had had a fairly successful year, but was still short of money."


Joe Biden is responsible for 35% of total United States Government debt and he has been POTUS for 7 months. Buy Cake while you can because the bread lines are a comin at this rate.

But orange Man bad and says mean things

 

[God is a Husker]

Half of half of the country treats our tax system like a penny slot. Penny in, penny in, penny in, $300 jackpot. Walk away

50% of Americans do not pay income tax


the bottom 1/3 of Americans live in a Socialist country where they pay nothing in and receive everything, the top 1/3 of Americans live in a Fascist country where their level of taxation depends on their relationships to politicians and political parties and the middle 1/3 of Americans pay for both


#boss

 

[HCFord1]

Thanks OP and for those who pointed out that you can unenroll. I was aware that I’d be getting $167/month but was annoyed because I had just gone through the exercise of increasing my withholding per paycheck so that I don’t owe so fucking much every year. Now I don’t have to worry about my calculation being off by $1,000.

 

[Huskerbuck85]

Been getting a lot of questions about this so thought I'd try to give a breakdown for anyone curious. Obviously everyone's situation is different so there will be variables.

The credit being paid in advance is part of the same child tax credit that you would or wouldn't qualify for on your 2021 return. If your income changes from the 2020 return (or 2019 if 2020 isn't filed yet) you could be over or under paid in the advance period.

Child tax credit thats always been there phases out at 200k for single, married 400k. $2,000 per kid ages 0-16. Ages are always measured as of the last day of the year. So if your kid turns 17 on December 31st they no longer qualify for the $2,000.

New child tax credit phases out at 150k and different amounts depending on age. 0-5 $1,600 6-17 $1,000. Note that the new credit includes 17 year olds but the old one still doesn't. Never understood why that didn't go to 18. Hopefully they raise the old one a year too.

So 100k income with 2 kids ages 4 and 8 would get $6,600 around half of which they would get in advance payments July-December. Compared to the 4k they got on the 2020 return.

Personally I hate that they're paying it in advance because many people will not realize it's an advance payment. Think about same situation where person is used to getting a 1k refund. They get 3,300 in advance payments (of which 1,600 is new) and now they owe $700 with the return (3,300 advance - 1,600 new credit - 1k typical refund). Yes its even better than a wash in the end but people are creatures of habit. Right now many are thinking that 3,300 of advance payments is all new money.

A $1,700 swing on the tax return is a lot to a family of 4 making 100k if it's unexpected. Bottom line know what your credit will be on your 2021 return and plan for how the advance payments will affect your typical refund/amount due.

How do you suppose this will work out for those with child custody arrangements that alter years in which they claim the child. For instance, the father claimed the child on their 2020 taxes and now is receiving the advance payment for 2021 which is to be the mother’s.

 

[iruletheskool]

How do you suppose this will work out for those with child custody arrangements that alter years in which they claim the child. For instance, the father claimed the child on their 2020 taxes and now is receiving the advance payment for 2021 which is to be the mother’s.

Sounds like another mess

 

[Jim14510]

How do you suppose this will work out for those with child custody arrangements that alter years in which they claim the child. For instance, the father claimed the child on their 2020 taxes and now is receiving the advance payment for 2021 which is to be the mother’s.

Another good example of why you would have to pay it back.

 

[BIG TONE SOPRANO]

Why shouldn’t you be able to write off a bottle of ketchup or a pair of shoes?

 

[Jim14510]

Why shouldn’t you be able to write off a bottle of ketchup or a pair of shoes?

You basically do. That's the point of the standard deduction. Prior to 2018 it was standard deduction and personal exemption.

 

[BIG TONE SOPRANO]

You basically do. That's the point of the standard deduction. Prior to 2018 it was standard deduction and personal exemption.

Cmon Jimbo

 

[Jim14510]

Cmon Jimbo

That's the point of it. You can argue about the amount if you like.

 

[BIG TONE SOPRANO]

That's the point of it. You can argue about the amount if you like.

The point of it was to eliminate some of the cheating that goes on for people that aren’t self employed. The self employed cheating is a far bigger disaster that deserves its own thread/fight

 

[cwessel76]

Correct. It is an increase to what was there if you're married and make less than 170k. Phases out 150k-170k. If married and under 150k you'll get the full credit.

Goddamnit

 

[vailhusker]

Here's how to opt out of the Child Tax Credit payments

Families can opt out from the remaining payments using a portal from the IRS and instead receive the credit when they file their 2021 taxes.

money.yahoo.com

 

[God is a Husker]

Why shouldn’t you be able to write off a bottle of ketchup or a pair of shoes?

You basically do. That's the point of the standard deduction. Prior to 2018 it was standard deduction and personal exemption.

90-93% of Americans take a Standard Deduction ($12,550 for Single filers, $25,100 for MFJ)


If you have a reason to deduct a bottle of ketchup or a pair of shoes the Code more than allows for it, it encourages you to do it.


I personally deduct bottles of ketchup every year for every hotel I own. I never have deducted a pair of shoes but I would assume those in the trade or business do annually.


PS: Any person that takes a Standard Deduction does so because that amount is GREATER than any itemization deductions they could otherwise be able to compile. The SD is essentially the 0% income tax brackets that idiots like AOC don't understand the US already has because it means the first $12,550 Americans make is NOT included as taxable income. If you took the standard deduction away or lowered it to Obama era levels you would bring in very little tax revenue. All it would do is make poor -to- middle class filers owe more income tax and spend more money on accountants and lawyers trying to itemize as much as they can. It would also make the IRS spend more money on man hours trying to enforce the Code. Americans would spend more money and pay more in taxes AND the Federal Gov. would spend more money on the IRS than it made in additional tax revenue. The only people that would make more money are the mega accounting firms, the tax software companies and tax lawyers....even as a recovering tax lawyer I don't like this option.

The point of it was to eliminate some of the cheating that goes on for people that aren’t self employed. The self employed cheating is a far bigger disaster that deserves its own thread/fight

Not sure what cheating you are talking about since self employed filers are by far and away the most taxed group of Americans.


Unlike employed filers, SE filers are paying their social security and medicare to the Fed by themselves AND on top of that are paying the workers comp entirely by themselves.


Self Employed filers are (again) the by far and away most most likely to be audited. So the amount of "cheating" the filer does is up to their own personal risk assessment...

But let me speak on behalf of all single filers, being able to "cheat" by using $30 worth of toilet paper, hand soap and tabasco sauce out of my $600 business expense deductible Sams Club bill isn't worth the ~15-25% more in tax that I pay compared to an employed person with the same income.

 

[ThomOsborneMD]

Have not read the thread and idk if I will because it will probably just make me angry.

I have a JD and specialized in Tax. I was a Lawyer that specialized in tax related issues (mostly with AG and small business) for a few years before I moved to the business world.


I can sum up this entire theater with one quote from Animal Farm that sums up Federal Government spending.

"The farm had had a fairly successful year, but was still short of money."


Joe Biden is responsible for 35% of total United States Government debt and he has been POTUS for 7 months. Buy Cake while you can because the bread lines are a comin at this rate.

I do appreciate an honest attempt to care about government debt every 4-8 years depending on who’s in office.

 

[God is a Husker]

I do appreciate an honest attempt to care about government debt every 4-8 years depending on who’s in office.

I too am a debt hawk that laughs at the various sides complaining about spending/debt based on who controls the Executive.


However, Joe Biden is 7 months in and has spent more than the bad orange man spent in 4 years.

At the current rate Joe Biden will spend more in 1 year than Obama did in 8 years.



Again, 35% of total US debt (that has been accumulating since FDR) has happened in 7 months and it is not spending related to a World War or building an interstate highway system or creating a social welfare net/ social security retirement system or going to the moon.

 

[ThomOsborneMD]

I too am a debt hawk that laughs at the various sides complaining about spending/debt based on who controls the Executive.


However, Joe Biden is 7 months in and has spent more than the bad orange man spent in 4 years.

At the current rate Joe Biden will spend more in 1 year than Obama did in 8 years.



Again, 35% of total US debt (that has been accumulating since FDR) has happened in 7 months and it is not spending related to a World War or building an interstate highway system or creating a social welfare net/ social security retirement system or going to the moon.

That’s neat. Wonder if something has been going on during his entire 7 months that would prompt increased spending. None of it matters.

 

[Cash68847]

That’s neat. Wonder if something has been going on during his entire 7 months that would prompt increased spending. None of it matters.

Republicans only care about spending when they don’t have the power. Both sides don’t give a shit about cutting spending.

 

[cwessel76]

Republicans only care about spending when they don’t have the power. Both sides don’t give a shit about cutting spending.

You can spend if taxes are stayed at a consistent level. Democrats at least want to spend and keep taxes relatively high in an attempt to pay for them.