H.R. 2763: American Family Act

H.R. 2763 would end the current child tax credit after 2024 and replace it with a monthly benefit. Instead of one lump sum at tax time, most eligible families would get an advance payment every month: $300 for each child ages 6 through 17, $360 for each child under 6, and $2,400 for the month a child is under 1 month old.

Over a full year at the top amount, that works out to about $3,600 per older child and $4,320 per child under 6. The newborn payment sits on top of that, aimed at the first weeks when costs like gear, diapers, and missed work tend to spike.

Income still matters. The payment starts shrinking once income passes $150,000 for married couples filing jointly and surviving spouses, $112,500 for most other filers, and $75,000 for married people filing separately. Families above those lines do not lose everything at once — the benefit tapers as income climbs, with a second, steeper reduction at much higher incomes.

The bill spells out who counts as a qualifying child: generally under 18, living with you for more than half the month, in your unpaid care, and meeting citizenship, residency, or adoption rules.

Because payments go out monthly based on earlier information, the IRS could send too much — say, if your income rises midyear — and you may have to pay part of it back when you file. The bill also directs Treasury to build an online portal, available in multiple languages, where families can start or stop payments and update their details during the year.

One more shift: the monthly payments would generally be shielded from garnishment and levy, except for child support enforcement. So the bill is not only changing how large the credit is — it is changing when families get the money and how the IRS would run the system.