It’s safe to state that 2022 has been a financially challenging year for many parents. And the main causes are an absence of stimulus funding and high inflation. The Child Tax Credit received an increase last year, increasing its maximum value for kids aged 6 to 17 from $2,000 to $3,000 and $3,600 for those under the age of 6. In addition, from July through De cember, participants received payments totaling half of the credit in monthly basis installments into their bank accounts.
Struggle Without Stimulus Support
In the meantime, inflation has raised the expense of almost every aspect of living. In addition to other things, Americans now pay more for housing, electricity, transportation, food, and clothing. And many people have either depleted their savings or run up credit card debt to survive. Sadly, figures indicate that this year, in part because of inflation and the lack of an increased Child Tax Credit, food insufficiency has increased in households with children. However, a more nuanced data point shows that even parents from the middle-class struggle without stimulus support.
Parents Spending Less On Children’s Clothes
Parents frequently avoid making large purchases for themselves to save money for the necessities for their children. However, Gap and Old Navy, two well-known companies that middle-class families frequently turn to for kids’ clothing, claim that expenditure on infant and children’s products has decreased this year. That’s usually among the last places where parents make cuts, so it’s a sign that many homes, even middle-class families, are feeling the effects of inflation.
Parents Can Anticipate Monthly Installments
Legislators continue to try to reinstate some aspects of the expanded Child Tax Credit. This does not always imply that parents can anticipate monthly installment payments in 2023 or that the credit’s value will remain unchanged from that of 2021. However, disadvantaged families can at least find solace in the fact that an improved Child Tax Credit is still in effect. But let’s be clear: the Child Tax Credit is still available till 2022. Families that are typically eligible for the credit may apply for the funds in 2023 when they file their 2022 tax returns reports Nasdaq.