William Byrnes' Tax, Wealth, and Risk Intelligence

The Texas A&M graduate programs for risk management for areas like wealth management, tax risk management, financial risk, economic crimes, ESG risk, is accepting applications for fall. Over 500 candidates are currently enrolled in the graduate courses yet maximum enrollment per course section is maintained at 30 so that each student receives meaningful feedback throughout the course from the fulltime academic and professional part-time faculty. Check out the tax risk management program here as an example of the curriculum and courses: https://law.tamu.edu/distance-education/international-tax

Texas A&M, annual budget of $6.3 billion (FY2020), is the largest U.S. public university, one of only 60 accredited U.S. universities of the American Association of Universities (R1: Doctoral Universities – Highest Research Activity) and one of only 17 U.S. universities that hold the triple U.S. federal grant of Land, Sea, and Space! The law school has the #1 bar passage in Texas, and #1 for employment in Texas (and top 10 in U.S.)

• Ranked in top 20 public universities by Wall Street Journal / Times Higher Education (2020)
• #1 endowment for U.S. public universities, #7 overall
• #1 of U.S. public universities for a superior education at an affordable cost
• #1 for most CEOs employed by Fortune 500
• #1 employment outcome for law schools in Texas and in top 10 in the USA
• #1 bar passage in Texas
• Rank #11 by Money Best Colleges Report, 2021 and #5 in US among public universities (Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Peterson’s, PayScale.com, Money/College Measures calculations)
• Texas A&M ranks #1 in Texas, #1 in the SEC, and #12 in the U.S. in Washington Monthly’s 2020 overall college rankings based on the quality of education, accessibility, graduation rates, student involvement, and research: see tx.ag/WashMonth20

Prof. William H. Byrnes

Robert Bloink, J.D., LL.M.

ARPA Expands Child Tax Credit for 2021 

The ARPA expanded and enhanced the child tax credit for the 2021 tax year.  For tax years beginning after December 31, 2020 and before January 1, 2022, the child tax credit amount increased from $2,000 to $3,000 per qualifying child.  The credit amount is also fully refundable for the 2021 tax year only (under TCJA, $1,400 was refundable).  The $3,000 amount is also further increased to $3,600 per qualifying child under the age of six years old as of December 31, 2021.  For more information on the child tax credit, visit Tax Facts Online. Read More

Eligibility for 2021 Child Tax Credit and Advance Child Tax Credit Payments

A taxpayer can receive advance Child Tax Credit payments even if earning zero income in 2020 or 2021, if eligible for the credit otherwise. 

IRS online tool to help low-income families register for monthly Child Tax Credit payments

The IRS unveiled an online Non-filer Sign-up tool designed to help eligible families who don’t normally file tax returns register for the monthly Advance Child Tax Credit payments. The IRS will begin disbursing advance Child Tax Credit payments on July 15. After that, payments will be disbursed on a monthly basis through December 2021. In June 2021, the IRS will send each eligible taxpayer a “Letter 6417” that informs the amount of the estimated Child Tax Credit monthly payments.

This tool, an update of last year’s IRS Non-filers tool, is also designed to help eligible individuals who don’t normally file income tax returns register for the $1,400 third round of Economic Impact Payments (also known as stimulus checks) and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit for any amount of the first two rounds of Economic Impact Payments they may have missed.

The IRS will automatically determine eligibility for most families

Eligible families who already filed or plan to file 2019 or 2020 income tax returns should not use this tool. Once the IRS processes their 2019 or 2020 tax return, the information will be used to determine eligibility and issue advance payments. Families who want to claim other tax benefits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit for low- and moderate-income families, should not use this tool and instead file a regular tax return.