(ABC 6 News) – Tax season is officially here, and to mark the occasion, Governor Tim Walz urges parents to take advantage of the state’s new child tax credit.

Passed last year, the bill allows some Minnesotans to claim up to $1,700 per child on their tax returns.

The credit is planned to reach nearly 300,000 low-income families, hopefully cutting child poverty rates by more than 30%.

“We saw during the pandemic when the federal government moved on the federal child tax credit we saw the largest movement of children out of poverty that we’ve seen in our nation’s history,” said Walz. “That expired at the federal level but we in Minnesota picked it up.”