Families paying off rent, food, debts with child tax credit

Families are starting to spend the money from the expanded child tax credit

NASHUA, N.H. -- Christina Darling finally replaced her 2006 Chevrolet Equinox after it broke down several times while picking her children up from day care. But the 31-year-old mother of two was struggling to keep up with the car payments. Brianne Walker desperately wanted to take her three children and two siblings camping for the first time but wasn't sure how she could pay for it. After all, she was behind on her rent, and day care and grocery costs were adding up. Then, the two women from New Hampshire got a surprise in their bank accounts this month. They qualified for the expanded child tax credit, part of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. Families on average are getting $423 this month; the Treasury Department estimates that 35.2 million families received payments in July. “The additional money does help alleviate the pressure,” said Walker, 29, who took custody of her two siblings last year after her mother overdosed. The $800 credit will help make up for losses she incurred after quitting a kitchen design job to care for the five youngsters, ages 3 to 19.