President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act into law Thursday (March 11), preparing millions of Americans to implement the stimulus package for a third time.

The bill is supported by an overwhelming majority of registered voters (77% according to a Morning Consult/Politico poll). The bill passed the House earlier this week and passed the Senate over the weekend.

The package includes significant benefits for dependent children, some of which are not well known and go far beyond what the previous two packages allocated. Here is how families with dependent children will be directly affected by the American Rescue Plan Act.

Last March's stimulus package provided $500 per dependent child; the December bill provided $600. In this third round, the amount paid to families that meet the income requirements (see bullet points below) is $1,400 per child.

In addition to the substantial increase in payments, all dependents who filed a tax return were eligible for direct payments, regardless of age.

The first two packages excluded dependent children and dependent adults over age 17. Thus, many parents bearing the costs of high school seniors (or actual seniors) were not eligible for special assistance.

Under the new stimulus package, taxpayers who are responsible for more than half of the expenses of college students, disabled adults, and elderly dependents would receive a payment of $1,400 per dependent.

Under the bill, dependents would qualify for the full $1,400 payment, subject to the same income requirements as the taxpayer who provides support:

Taxpayers whose AGI exceeds these limits, up to $80,000, $120,000, and $160,000 respectively, would still be eligible for the reduced payment. (Adjusted gross income is the income reported on the most recent tax return.)

Payments to dependents are sent directly to the taxpayer, not to the dependents themselves.

A family of two with parents earning $70,000 and children ages 15 and 17, and one elderly person at home, would theoretically receive a $7,000 stimulus payment; under the December stimulus bill, they would have received only $1,800.

The American Rescue Plan Act also significantly increases the child tax credit for at least one year. In addition, many families will receive monthly checks of up to $300 per eligible child for the last six months of the year.

In 2020, dependent children had to be under age 17 to qualify for the standard $2,000 child tax credit. The tax credit, unlike a payment, simply subtracts that amount from taxes.

The American Rescue Plan Act includes a credit for 17-year-olds (arguably the most important age for anyone who has ever tried to keep a teenage boy clothed, fed, and sheltered).

In addition to including millions more dependent children nationwide, the proposal would expand the amount of the tax credit: $3,000 for children ages 6-17 and $3,600 for children under age 6.

To qualify for the credit, the child must have a Social Security number and live with the filer's parent or guardian for at least six months of the year.

Higher-income parents are not eligible for the expanded deduction. Eligibility follows the same income formula as the direct payments described above, including scaling. Families whose income exceeds the stimulus bill cap will continue to receive the $2,000 tax credit they received in 2020.

Under normal circumstances, families who pay less than $2,000 in federal income taxes (e.g., a single parent with two children earning $25,000) will not receive the full child tax credit.

However, under the American Rescue Plan Act, parents whose child tax credit exceeds their tax liability, even at the $3,000/$3,600 per child level, may receive the full amount.

Even better for these families, the IRS will provide an advance payment of the child tax credit for each month from July through December 2021. The monthly payment will be $300 for children under age 5 and $250 for children ages 6 through 17.

Moderate-income families are also eligible. Here is a calculator to help you figure out how much the advance payment of the child tax credit would be. The same theoretical family as above, with an income of $70,000 and two teenage children at home, would receive $500 per month starting in July.