Why haven't I received my child tax credit payment if I qualify?
The first round of payments for the Child Tax Credit were sent on July 15 and most families have received the credit. What options do you have if it hasn't?
The IRS has already sent out about 35 million payments, in total around $15 billion, and almost 9 of 10 payments were directly deposited in recipients' bank accounts. If you haven't received yours yet check out our guide below.
Firstly, make sure you are eligible for the Child Tax Credit with this tool from the IRS.
If you didn't file your taxes in 2020 or 2019 then you will need to use this link to the IRS portal. You can fill in the necessary details there make sure your payments begin.
The IRS also has a FAQ page on its website for other pressing questions.
If you qualify for the credit, and have filed your taxes in the last two years, but still haven't received the money then use these tools to check where your money is:
- check the IRS Child Tax portal, you can track when the IRS sent your payment for both online and mail payments;
- check you bank account - it may sound obvious but it could be worth checking again. It will appear in your bank account under the name 'IRS TREAS 310.';
- five days after the expected deposit date, which for this month is right now, you can file a trace with the IRS. For domestic mail you can file a trace four weeks after the expected arrival date. You can do this here.
More Child Tax Credit help:
- Child Tax Credit: Can I choose to receive $3600/$3000 rather than $300/$250 per month?
- Dependents that don’t qualify for 2021 Child Tax Credit may qualify for $500 tax credit
- Child Tax Credit: what is the income limit for joint filers, single filers and heads of household?
- Is there a limit of children a family can claim for the $3,000 to $3,600 Child Tax Credit?
- What happens if I don’t want to receive the $3,000 or $3,600 Child Tax Credit Monthly payments?
How much money should I be expecting?
Since July 15 families across America have started to receive the first payment of their credit. For each child under six, those eligible will receive $300 a month, and for children between the ages of six and seventeen, $250 will be sent. There is no limit on the number of children in an eligible family and unless you opted out, it is totally automatic, unless you are part of the aforementioned group which hasn't filed taxes.