Toledo Blade – The kids are all right: Child tax credit aids 94% of Toledo families
When the Internal Revenue Service began distributing child tax-credit checks last week, Ms. Williams, a single mother, used her money to cover bills, groceries, school supplies, and uniforms for her brood.
The child tax credit offers monetary relief to working parents, and Congress expanded the benefit in February as part of its massive coronavirus stimulus package. Now, the Williams household falls into the 94 percent of Toledo families eligible for tax-credit payments, and many parents across the city are feeling the relief.
“I just think it’s an amazing idea,” Ms. Williams said. “I love it. It’s helping out the community. A lot of kids go without both parents so the money helps out a lot.”
A census-based study from Lending Tree puts Toledo at No. 3 in a list of the top 10 metropolitan areas with the greatest percentage of eligible families, trailing only its Midwestern neighbors, Cleveland and Detroit.
However, the study found that Toledo’s average expected tax credit, a total of $7,119 per family, is lower than in most cities because fewer Toledo families have many young children.
The total tax credit amounts to $3,600 for each child under age 6 and $3,000 each for those between 6 and 17. From July to December, parents will receive half of their tax credit as a monthly $300 check for children in the younger category and a $250 check for each child in the elder group. This year’s first payments were deposited July 15.
