Child Tax Credit increase bill fails to pass Congress. Will Americans get their money back?

It’s unlikely that millions of Americans with kids will get extra money in their pockets this tax season after a U.S. House bill expanding the federal Child Tax Credit failed to pass in Congress before the 2024 tax filing deadline.

A bill called the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year.

The bill would’ve increased the maximum amount of refund per child from $1,800 for the 2023 tax year. Currently, the federal Child Tax Credit provides Americans $2,000, but only $1,600 of that is refundable. This means taxpayers can get that money back even if they don’t owe any taxes, according to al.com.

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The bill would also increase the federal Child Tax Credit to $1,900 in 2024 and $2,000 in 2025, and both tax credit amounts would be adjusted for inflation, according to the bill.

In February, the IRS said that it was prepared to retroactively apply the federal Child Tax Credit to any taxes filed this year, al.com reported. If the bill was passed, eligible taxpayers could get their refund back as little as two weeks after its passage.

“Taxpayers should not wait for this legislation to file their returns. We will take care of getting any additional refunds to taxpayers who have already filed. They won’t need to take additional steps,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said to lawmakers then.

But, the bill is now stalled in the U.S. Senate.

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Last week, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told NBC News that the bill was on “life support.”

“This tax bill looks like, to me, it’s in very serious trouble,” Hawley said.

But advocates are still hopeful that the bill will pass. The National Parents Union, a non-profit advocacy group for parents, pushed lawmakers to pass the bill during a rally on April 10, according to CBS.

“Both Republicans and Democrats, doesn’t matter what area of the country we’re talking about — there is unanimity,” Keri Rodrigues, the group’s co-founder, said in a statement, according to CBS. “American families are in support of this Child Tax Credit.”