Nearly 140,000 families have yet to apply for child tax rebate with the deadline hours away

Max Bayer | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Show Caption Hide Caption Here's how parents can sign up for a one-time $100-per-child tax rebate Here's how parents can sign up for a one-time $100-per-child tax rebate

MADISON - With the deadline at midnight, nearly 140,000 Wisconsin families have yet to apply for their $100-per-child tax rebate.

As of 12:30 p.m. Monday, more than 535,000 families had applied for the rebate out of the 671,000 that are eligible.

“We want every eligible Wisconsin family to apply for their $100 per-child tax rebate tonight before midnight,” said Gov. Walker in a statement. “More than half a million families have already applied, but we don’t want any families to be left out because an extra $100 per child could really make a difference going into the next school year.”

Walker spent Monday promoting the rebate at Mills Fleet Farm in Wausau and Eau Claire.

More: Postcards promoting tax rebate cost state $128,000

More: Wisconsin Senate passes Gov. Scott Walker's $100-per-child tax rebate, sales tax holiday

To apply for the credit, the dependent child needs to have been born before Dec. 31, 2017, and be a Wisconsin resident and U.S. citizen. The rebate can be claimed for children younger than 18 as of Dec. 31, 2017.

Parents will need their Social Security number, the Social Security number and date of birth for their child and, if they want direct deposit of the rebate, the routing number and account number from their bank.

Walker proposed the one-time tax break in January and the Legislature approved the measure in April. Applications for the rebate opened in mid-May.

The rebate, along with a sales tax holiday in early August, are expected to cost $137 million.



However, opponents of Walker criticize the plan as an election-year bribe.

"Scott Walker owes families a lot more than $100 to make up for his disastrous policies that have hit working families in the wallet for 7 long years," said TJ Helmstetter, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Election year gimmicks -- no matter how many days Governor Walker spends on the road promoting them -- won't fool Wisconsin families who know the truth that they can't afford Governor Walker's policies anymore."

Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) did not apply for the rebate. Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse), who like Hintz has repeatedly criticized the tax break, refused to say whether she applied for it.

The Department of Revenue spent $163,000 on more than 551,000 postcards to families that claimed a federal tax credit in 2017 and, in some cases, 2016.

Additional marketing for the rebate came in the form of social media, press releases and information made available on the department's website, among other forms of outreach.



To apply, visit https://childtaxrebate.wi.gov/ or call (608) 266-5437.

