Child tax credits are hitting bank accounts: How far does the money go in Burlington?
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press
By April Barton
Some Vermont families have begun receiving a $3,600 child tax credit. Just how far does that money go in the Burlington area?
The average amount people in the Burlington-South Burlington area spend on monthly household bills (not including rent or mortgage) is $1,090, according to Doxo, a bill pay management app that compiled bill pay information for metro areas across the country. So, a full child tax credit for one kid could help Vermont families alleviate three months’ worth of bills.
Put another way, if families were to put the money toward paying one bill in particular, it would cover nine months of utilities (average cost of $395), about two years of health insurance (average cost of $141), or about two and a half years of cable and internet bills (average cost of $118).
Households in the Burlington-South Burlington area pay 7.3% more than the national average for monthly bills, which amount to 18.9% of their household income.
How the expanded child tax credits work
Households could receive up to $3,600 per child 5 years old and younger and $3,000 per child 6 and older.
The full amounts of $3,600 or $3,000 are eligible to those who make $75,000 or less for single taxpayers and $150,000 or less for joint filers. The payment is reduced by $50 for every $1,000 of income above those limits. Payments are made monthly for six months and then families can claim the other half when filing their 2021 income tax return.
A family receiving the full $3,600 benefit for a 5-year-old would receive $300 a month for the next 6 months and claim the other $1,800 on their taxes. A family receiving the full $3,000 benefit for a 10-year-old would get $250 a month for that child for six months and then claim the remaining $1,500 while filing their 2021 taxes.