Child tax credit payments will start hitting bank accounts today. Here’s what you need to know.

WASHINGTON — Most eligible families in the U.S. will get their first monthly payments of the expanded child tax credit Thursday.

The payments, which were included in the American Rescue Plan, change an existing tax credit by expanding the eligibility pool and increasing the money families get. Under the expanded credit, the IRS, also for the first time, is offering the option to receive the payments monthly, rather than in a lump sum as a tax refund.