How have child tax credit ruleds changed?

Thank you for your question.  There have been quite a few changes to the child tax credit.  Here are a few: (1) The credit is higher than last year. (2) There are now automatic advance payments of one-half of your total credit for 2021.  These are paid in equal payments from July through December.  You may opt out of the program by going to irs.gov. (3) To qualify for the program: you filed a 2019 or 2020 return and claimed the credit, have a qualifying child under age 18,  maintain a home in the US for more than 6 months and there are income limits. (4) if your income changes during the year, you may have to pay back some of the advance credit.  Thus, taking the advance payments is not the best route for everyone.