What to Do If You Haven’t Received Your Child Tax Credit
The first of the monthly child tax payments of up to $ 300 per child was sent yesterday, but what if it hasn’t arrived yet? Well, delays are expected – even for direct deposits made with the IRS – so don’t panic for now. Here’s what to expect in case of delays, and what you can do if your payment never arrives.
What is a Child Tax Credit?
Under the American Rescue Plan, signed last March, families are eligible for tax breaks of up to $ 3,600 per child in 2021. Half of this amount is sent to taxpayers ahead of schedule, either in the form of monthly checks or direct deposit, on the fifteenth of every month until the end of the year (for more information on how credit works, read this Lifehacker post ).
What delays can you expect?
Direct transfers can be delayed by two to three business days from July 15th, which means that you can only see the payment after the weekend. Payments sent in check can take one to two weeks, so you can get yours towards the end of the month.
What if I still don’t receive my Child Tax Benefit?
As a first step, the IRS recommends logging into their Child Tax Benefit Portal if you haven’t received your first payment yet. There you can double-check your eligibility and payment processing. If your eligibility is pending review, it means the IRS is still determining if you are eligible. Unfortunately, the agency does not provide additional guidance other than recommending that you check the portal again later. According to CNET , if you are checking your bank account to see if a payment has been made, look for a deposit marked “CHILDCTC”.
(In addition to your payment status, the portal will be updated over the next few weeks so you can change your address, your dependents status, and update your paycheck for 2021.)
What if the payment has been processed but I still haven’t received it?
If you see a processed payment on the portal but don’t receive it, you can try something called payment tracking , which is a request to see what happened to your money. It can take up to six weeks to process the trace, so you will only want to use this option after enough time has passed since your payment may still be in progress.
Before initiating tracking of a payment, the IRS recommends that you ensure that sufficient time has passed since the date of your payment, namely:
- Direct deposit: five days
- Send check to standard address: four weeks
- Check sent to forwarding address: six weeks
- Check sent to foreign address: nine weeks
If none of this works, in the worst case, you will have to claim the full credit later as part of your 2021 tax return.