IRS Begins Issuing First Round Of Expanded Child Tax Credit Payments

Many families in Oklahoma and across the country woke up Thursday morning to a little extra money in their bank accounts.

That's because IRS began issuing the first payments of the expanded Child Tax Credit.

Jane Healy has two children who are eligible, and she said the extra cash is going to help. She said she now has some thinking to do about how to put it to work for her family.

"Start making car payments and that extra money, I don't know, that's a discussion, we have one going off to college, so really getting some things for college,” Healy said.

It's $250 a month for each child between the ages of six and 17, and $300 for each child under the age of six.

To be eligible for the full amount, a family filing a joint return has to make less than $150,000 or $75,000 for a single taxpayer.

Experts say don't worry if you haven't received it yet because it could take two to three business days for that direct deposit to drop in. If you don't have a bank account or haven't give the IRS your bank information, they'll send you a check which could take one to two weeks to arrive.

Peter Gonzales works as a chef at a downtown Tulsa restaurant and said it would be nice to have some extra cash on top of his job. He believes this couldn't have come at a better time.

"I know it's hard to find work, but at the same time there is a lot of work out there,” Gonzales said.

Those payments will go out on the 15th of each month through December. The Biden administration and congressional democrats want to make the payments permanent after that.