Highest child tax credit in country will take effect Monday in Minnesota
ST. PAUL — Next Monday is Tax Day and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz doesn't want parents to miss out on the state's nationally ranked child tax credit.
Bold predictions of the credit's effect show that child poverty in Minnesota would decrease by 33%. The fully refundable credit is the most generous of the programs across the nation and offers recipients up to $1,750 per child up to 17-years-old.
"What that means is real money back in people's pockets," Walz said at a press conference on Wednesday.
So far, Walz said, the average credit per family who has already filed is $2,508 and could impact upwards of 360,000 families across the state.
"We know through research that when we reduce childhood poverty, all the indicators in society that we want to see, from attendance in school to lower crime rates, all of those things start to go in the positive direction," he said.
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Minnesota's Child Tax Credit
Reporting from local non-profit news organization MinnPost found that Minnesota is one of the most expensive states in the country for childcare, with costs ranging between over $9,500 to upwards of $16,000 per year.
Vanessa Williamson, a mother of four, said during the press conference that she was able to put money into her children's savings accounts, assist her parents, and even plan a vacation with the $7,000 she received from the once-per-year payment.
"It's been an amazing thing and I hope that Minnesota keeps moving in the right direction," she said during the press conference. "Hopefully we can move this where it's over the year and not just during tax season."
Check here to see if you qualify to receive credits. Filers are able to submit for tax credits after Tax Day until October as long as they do not owe any taxes.
What states have child tax credits?
The federal government and 15 other states have a variation of a child tax credit.
Arizona
California
Colorado
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Oregon
Oklahoma
Utah
Vermont
Wisconsin
— Sam Woodward is the Minnesota elections reporting fellow for USA Today. You can reach her at swoodward@gannett.com, on X @woodyreports, or on Threads @samjowoody
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Minnesota's child tax credit highest in the country
