TAX TROUBLE Child Tax Credits – Three reasons why you HAVEN’T received $300 payment as next checks set to go out on Friday


AS American families await their second Child Tax Credit aid on Friday, many are dealing with specific reasons why they have yet to receive their first payment.

There are various issues hampering the federal cash credit collection including being paid the wrong amount, an erroneous omission for those families with an immigrant spouse or some families may be entitled to collect the money but failed to file a 2020 tax return. 

The last reason is perhaps most persistent since these advance monthly payments are based on the most recent filing or unless your 2019 taxes are the latest year of returns.

“Half the total credit amount will be paid in advance monthly payments and you will claim the other half when you file your 2021 income tax return,” according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

It’s very possible that if you filed, the information may be outdated or incomplete. 

Meanwhile, a number of mixed-status families missed out because of an agency glitch.

In a statement, the IRS acknowledged that "some taxpayers who filed tax returns" with immigrant status numbers and mistakenly "did not receive their child tax credit payment for July."

But the agency promised to have corrected the issue.

PLAYING CATCHUP

Also, the IRS has been playing catchup.

The agency reported a fourfold increase in backlog in processing returns compared to 2019. 

This tax season, the agency confirmed there were 35 million tax returns which hadn’t been manually processed, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate, a government watchdog.

CTC SO FAR

Since July 15, the IRS began supplying eligible families with the Child Tax Credit (CTC) worth as much as $300 per month for each child under 6 years old and $250 for each kid between the ages of 6 and 17.

The next date is Aug. 13 and is set to continue through December.

About $15billion of federal funds were “paid to families that include nearly 60 million eligible children” as part of the CTC made possible because of President Joe Biden’s $1.9trillion American Rescue Plan package passed in March.

KEY PORTALS

The publication CNET lays out key portals, starting with creating an ID.me account.

The CTC Update Portal can help confirm eligibility and check payment history.

The latter also lets you update your banking information, specifically if you want to be paid by paper or the more common direct deposit.

For more click here