Child tax credit: When and where fourth payment will be sent

The fourth round of direct payments goes to eligible families on Friday.

The fourth round of monthly child tax credit direct payments will go to eligible families this week.

The temporarily increased tax credits – included in the US $ 1.9 trillion rescue plan signed by President Joe Biden in March – offer eligible parents up to $ 3,600 per child over the course of a year. The first half of the credit will be paid out as a monthly payment of up to $ 300 for the remainder of 2021, and the second half will be available when parents file their 2021 income tax return.

The first three payments were sent on July 15th, August 13th and September 15th. Here’s what you should know before your October exam.

When will the payment for October be transferred?

Payments will be made on Friday either by direct bank transfer or by post to eligible families who have not chosen not to receive the direct payments. Checks may take longer to arrive in the mail.

Where are the payments deposited?

Eligible parents can use the Internal Revenue Service’s Child Tax Credit Update Portal to see if they will receive their October payment by wire transfer or mail, and to which bank account or mailing address the money will be sent.

Parents can also use the tool to change the bank account or mailing address the checks should be sent to – or sign up for a direct deposit if they receive paper checks in the mail.

“The IRS urges every family that receives checks to consider switching to direct deposit,” the IRS previously said. “With the direct deposit, families can access their money faster. The direct deposit eliminates the time, worry and expense of cashing a check. In addition, direct deposit eliminates the risk of lost, stolen, or undelivered checks. ”

October 4th was the deadline to make changes to the Friday payment, but parents have until November 1st to make changes before the November 15th payment.

What to do if a previous payment is missing

Eligible families who have not received any of the first three payment rounds should first check the update portal to ensure that they are signed up for direct payments and are directed to the correct location.

Those who don’t receive their missing payments after a certain amount of time can request payment tracking to keep track of their issued payment by mailing or faxing a completed Form 3911 to the IRS.

The IRS said it couldn’t track the payment unless it was:

• Five days “since the deposit date and the bank says it hasn’t received the payment”;
• Four weeks since payment by post to a “standard address”;
• Six weeks since payment by post and a forwarding address has been provided;
• Nine weeks since payment was sent outside of the US.

According to the IRS, there were cases in September where parents who received the first two payments missed their third payment due to a technical issue. It said on September 24th that these parents should receive their payments soon.

In addition, families must have filed either a 2019 or 2020 tax return in order to receive the monthly payments. Low-income families who typically fail to file a tax return can still receive the payments using the IRS’s registration tool.

The tool will only remain available until Friday, which is also the final deadline for most people to file their taxes for 2020.

How to turn off future payments

Parents have the option of deregistering from the direct payments and instead receive a larger lump sum when filing their tax return for 2021.

October 4th was the deadline to unsubscribe from payment for that month, but families have until November 1st to use the update portal to opt out of payment in November and all future payments. There is no way to dial in again.

Both spouses must de-register if they are married and file together, the IRS said. If only one spouse signs out, they will receive half of the joint payment that they should have received with their spouse.

The IRS says there are several reasons families may choose not to receive the monthly payments. Parents may want to opt out if they expect the amount of tax they file when filing their 2021 tax returns in 2022 to be higher than their expected refund, the IRS says. The IRS says that accepting the prepayments may decrease the refund or increase the amount owed.

About the child tax credit

The tax credit offers families a total of $ 3,600 per child under 6 years old and a total of $ 3,000 per child 6-17 years old.

Single parents earning up to $ 75,000 per year and couples earning up to $ 150,000 per year are eligible for full credit. The benefits are then staggered for higher incomes.

Parents can verify that they are eligible by using the IRS’s Child Tax Credit Eligibility Assistant.