Star Tribune
What you need to know to receive Minnesota’s $1,750 child tax credit this tax filing season
Gov. Tim Walz used the impending tax filing deadline to remind Minnesotans on Wednesday about the state’s new child tax credit, which could mean thousands of dollars in refunds for some lower-income families.
The $1,750 credit is the highest child tax credit in the country. It applies to all children 17 years old and younger for eligible families, with no cap on the number of children.
Democrats included the credit in a $3 billion tax package passed last session, inspired by pandemic-era direct payments from the federal government that helped slash poverty rates across the country. DFL leaders say the credit could cut childhood poverty in Minnesota by a third.
“We knew that one of the challenges we would have is to get the word out to people, to let them know this is out there,” Walz said at a Capitol news conference. “Our goal remains 100% [filing].”
Monday is the deadline to file taxes, but there are extensions available for some residents if they miss that date. Here’s what you need to know about who’s eligible for Minnesota’s new child tax credit and how to receive it.
Who qualifies for the credit?
The credit phases out for Minnesota families whose income is more than $29,500, or $35,000 for married joint filers. The credits are reduced as incomes rise, tapering out at about $95,000 in income for a family with four kids. The credit will increase with inflation each year.
You’re not eligible for the credit if you are a nonresident for Minnesota tax purposes, are another person’s dependent or have a restriction on claiming the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, according to the Department of Revenue. The department has a form taxpayers can fill out to determine if they’re eligible at www.revenue.state.mn.us/child-tax-credit.
How do you get the credit?
To receive the tax credit, families must file a 2023 income tax return, even if they’re not legally required to file taxes. That includes taxpayers who made up to $13,825 in income in 2023, or under $27,650 for married joint filers.
Will I get the money as part of my tax refund?
The child tax credit is a refundable credit, so it can lower the amount of taxes owed, increase a taxpayers’ refund or both. If a taxpayer owes nothing, the full child tax credit will be applied to their refund. The money should be directly deposited or sent in the mail within a few weeks of filing your tax return.
How many people have gotten the credit so far?
Since the start of the year, the state estimates more than 356,000 children have already benefited, with families receiving an average credit of $2,510. Walz said the state has returned roughly a half a billion dollars to taxpayers already through the program, but the goal is to hit 100% of eligible filers claiming the credit.
What if I miss the deadline to file my taxes?
For taxpayers who are only expecting a refund this year, there is an extension that is automatically granted until Oct. 15, said Sarah Bronson, deputy commissioner at the Department of Revenue.
Are the payments issued in one lump sum?
Yes, taxpayers should expect the full amount in their tax refund. However, this session Walz is pitching a new child tax credit pilot program that would break the credit up into two payments throughout the year, rather than all at once after taxes are filed.
Staff writers Kelly Smith and Tom Nehil contribued to this report
The University of Minnesota has postponed a scheduled Tuesday night lecture from infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci after pro-Palestinian protests that included some protesters barricading Morrill Hall the day before.
On Monday night, several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at the building, which houses the Minneapolis campus’ administrative offices, as Students for a Democratic Society used tied-up patio furniture to form giant barricades blocking the building’s large front windows and its entrances. The protesters demanded the U divest from companies with ties to Israel. At least 11 of the protesters were arrested.
The university decided to postpone Fauci’s lecture set for Tuesday night because of “unexpected and complicated incidents” over the past day, university spokesman Jake Rickersaid in an email.
“Given the importance of this lecture and the unexpected and complicated incidents that occurred on campus in the past 24 hours, University officials determined it best to reschedule to ensure a great experience for attendees and our University community,” Ricker said.
All tickets for the lecture will be voided and information about the rescheduled date will be posted later, the university said in an online post about the postponement. Pre-paid parking will be automatically refunded, the university added.
Additional pro-Palestinian protests took place Tuesday afternoon at the university in front of Coffman Memorial Union. The protests prompted university officials to temporarily close down at least a dozen buildings in a Tuesday alert. Those included: Coffman Union, Weisman Museum, Hasselmo Hall, Ford Hall, Vincent Murphy Hall, Tate Lab, Morrill Hall, Northrop Auditorium, Johnston Hall, Walter Library, Smith Hall, and Kolthoff Hall. All other East Bank campus buildings were switched to keycard access only, according to the alert.
An anti-Fauci rally had also been planned by conservative group Action 4 Liberty to coincide with the lecture at the university, but that was moved after the lecture was canceled.
Star Tribune
Aunt IDs 3-year-old who was fatally shot in Minneapolis home, speaks about what happened
A close relative on Tuesday identified the 3-year-old boy who was fatally shot this week in his family’s northeast Minneapolis apartment a day earlier.
Woods said police have told the family that Jajuan got ahold of the gun and it went off.
“Someone left a loaded gun [in the home,” said Woods, who has started an online fundraiser for her sister, Charlotte Williams. “He got ahold of it thinking it was a toy.”
Woods said her nephew, who went by Junior, “loved trucks and dinosaurs. He was just so silly and goofy. He was a momma’s boy.”
Jajuan suffered a gunshot wound to the top of the head, a source with knowledge of the incident told the Star Tribune. Paramedics rushed the toddler to HCMC, where he died a short time later.
Woods said she did not know who owned the gun.
Police spokesman Trevor Folke said Tuesday evening there have been no arrests and had no update to share in the “active and ongoing investigation.”
Bergman is championing efforts to boost literacy and invest in early childhood programming, and getting there, she said, requires financial sustainability, and that may mean closings and mergers. She attended last week’s finance committee meeting — as she’s done on a regular basis — and described the mention of “opportunity” as another rosy way of avoiding hard truths.
The district is spread too thin, she said. Some schools could take more students. Yet in others, class sizes are huge and caseloads so large that educators can’t build relationships with students and families, she said.
“I just fundamentally believe, and it’s been one of the objectives of my campaign, to be someone out in the community talking about this moment, listening to reactions, and listening for the places where families could get on board with the possibility of their beloved school having to close,” she said.
A way to get there, Bergman said, is by consolidating buildings, and in turn, expanding programming — perhaps not far from the school left behind.
Callahan argues that the mere mention of closings is causing families to leave the district: “This is not something that should be talked about so flippantly,” she said.
She said she would entertain the idea only if there also are plans to stabilize and recruit students, plus answers to three questions: How much money is being saved by closing a building? How many students will be retained if the school closes? And how many new students have to enroll to keep it open?
