Multilingual resources help families see if they qualify for advance child tax credit payments

Among other multilingual advance child tax credit resources, the IRS now has a Spanish-language version of its Child Tax Credit Eligibility Assistant. This tool helps families determine whether they qualify for the child tax credit and the special monthly advance payments of the credit. By answering a series of questions about themselves and their family members, a parent or other family member can quickly determine whether they qualify for the credit.

This tool may be particularly useful to families who do not normally file a federal tax return, and have not yet filed a 2019 or 2020 tax return. Often, these are people who receive little or no income, including those experiencing homelessness, low-income households, and other underserved groups. This tool can help them decide whether they should take the next step and register for the advance child tax credit payments.

The Child Tax Credit Eligibility Assistant does not request any personally identifiable information for any family member. For this reason, its results are not an official IRS determination. The results are reliable, though people should consider the results preliminary, even if all their answers are accurate. The IRS does not keep the answers the user supplies or the tool’s results.

To help people understand and receive advance payments of the child tax credit, the IRS has developed materials in several languages. All tools are posted on the Advance Child Tax Credit 2021 page on IRS.gov.

Multilingual resources available on the 2021 Child Tax Credit and Advance Child Tax Credit Payments: Resources and Guidance page include:

• A step-by-step guide to using the Non-filer Sign-up Tool in Spanish, Chinese Simplified, Korean, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, and Russian.
• A basic YouTube video on the Advance Child Tax Credit in Spanish and Chinese, as well as English.
• Several e-posters in various languages.

The IRS has  other tax-related tools and resources available in various languages, including information about IRS Free File in seven languages for people who may still need to file a 2020 tax return

Non-filer Sign-Up Tool

The online Non-filer Sign-up Tool helps eligible families who do not normally file tax returns register for the monthly advance child tax credit payments. The tool offers a free and easy way for eligible people who don’t normally have to file taxes to provide the IRS the basic information needed – name, address, and Social Security numbers – to figure and issue Advance Child Tax Credit Payments.

This tool also helps eligible individuals who don’t normally file tax returns register for the $1,400 third round of Economic Impact Payments, also known as stimulus checks, and claim the recovery rebate credit for any amount of the first two rounds of Economic Impact Payments they may have missed.

Beware of scams

The IRS urges everyone to be on the lookout for scams related to Advance Child Tax Credit Payments and Economic Impact Payments. Scammers often target non-English speakers and underserved communities. The IRS reminds all taxpayers that the only way to get either of these benefits is by filing a tax return with the IRS or registering online through the Non-filer Sign-up Tool on IRS.gov. Any other option is a scam.

People should watch out for scams using email, phone calls, or texts related to the payments. The IRS never sends unsolicited electronic communications asking anyone to open attachments or visit a non-governmental website.