BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo families will receive $77 million directly through the American Rescue Plan's expanded child tax credits.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer outlined the details of the plan and its impact for Western New York families Wednesday morning.
“Help is here for upwards of 85% of working families in Western New York, who will receive a big and vital boost from the $1400 stimulus checks that are in the mail,” said Senator Schumer. “Plus, the new and more robust Child Tax Credit will be a game-changing lifeline to countless Buffalo children trapped in poverty, something that is a particular bane here in Buffalo. Experts say that this policy alone can cut child poverty in half, which is a huge step forward that benefits all New Yorkers.”
According to Schumer, the refundable tax credit will soon be available in installments; it will go to families on top of the $1,400 stimulus checks that are being sent out as part of the $1.9 trillion package passed earlier in March.
Eligible families who have not filed a tax return in either 2019 or 2020 should file their 2020 taxes as soon as possible, according to the Senator.
"The American Rescue Plan stipulates that instead of having to wait to claim the entire tax credit on 2021 tax returns, eligible filers can receive half of this credit as an advance payment, received in equal installments starting in July through the end of the year. After that, those same families will be able to claim the remaining half of the credit when they file their 2021 tax returns next year," Schumer said.
Buffalo is the country's second-hardest hit city when it comes to child poverty, according to Schumer.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest poverty statistics, about 14.5% of children under the age of 18 lived in poverty nationwide as of 2019, down from 16.2% in 2018.
The national poverty rate across the board was 10.5% for the same year.
