The Internal Revenue Service will send the final installment of child tax credit advance payments next Wednesday, December 15, ending (for now) President Biden's efforts to give American parents a steady, extra income during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Most parents will receive $300 for each child under age 6 and $250 for each child between the ages of 6 and 17. Parents who choose not to pay in advance will be able to offset the full amount of taxes owed next spring.

This payment, either by direct deposit or paper check, would advance half of the child-related tax credit ($3,600 per child under age 6 and $3,000 per child ages 6 to 18) that most parents will receive in some form.

If you welcome a new joy child or gain a dependent under age 18 this year, you can take the deduction for the new child on your 2021 tax return. The IRS encourages those in this situation to file their 2021 income tax returns early in order to receive the credit in the form of a tax refund as soon as possible.

"The fastest way to receive a tax refund, including the child tax credit, is to file electronically and elect direct deposit," the IRS states in its 2021 tax return FAQs posted on the IRS website.

The addition of a new member to a family also means that the person is eligible to receive a $1,400 stimulus check for that person, as provided for in the March American Rescue Plan Act (the third stimulus bill). This amount is separate from the child tax credit and can be claimed as a credit on the 2021 tax return.

But here is a potential pitfall: if one of your minor children moves out of the country, if you move out of the country, or if your income has increased in the past year, you must repay the government a portion of your Child Tax Credit advance payments in the past six months Potentially, you may have to repay a portion of your Child Tax Credit prepayment to the government.

"Taxpayers who received less than the eligible amount of the Child Tax Credit on their 2021 tax returns will have to claim the remainder of the credit," the IRS announced earlier this week. Taxpayers who received more than their eligible amount "may be required to repay some or all of the excess when they file their returns.

If one of your children spent more than half the year (183 days under the law) with another adult who could claim that child as a dependent, you may owe the government. The same applies if you spent more than half of the year outside the U.S.

If your income exceeds $75,000 if filing individually, $112,500 if filing as head of household (as most single parents do), or $150,000 if filing jointly as a married couple, you do not qualify for the full child tax credit on your 2021 taxes, may have to repay some of it.

But don't panic yet; the child tax credit, which will be paid six times a month starting in July, is only half of the child tax credit you can claim on your 2021 taxes. Many people whose incomes have increased, whose children have moved out of the country, or who have moved out of the country will only receive a small tax credit in the spring.

All parents and other taxpayers with minor dependents should receive a letter in January detailing the total amount received as an advance on the child tax credit in 2021.

"This letter and other IRS letters regarding child tax credit advance payments should be kept with your tax records," the IRS said.

There is a glimmer of hope that the child tax credit prepayment may not end this month, or even resume soon. Biden hopes to extend the program for another four years, through the end of 2025.

Legislation to extend the program, which is included in his $2.2 trillion Build Back Better Act bill, faces tough odds in the Senate after narrowly passing the House last month.

As for a fourth stimulus package, it is highly unlikely to materialize. Even moderates in Congress have little appetite for passing such legislation, and budget hawks will certainly try to block any effort to pass such legislation.