Although the second child tax credit payment was scheduled for deposit last Friday, millions of parents have not yet received their $300. There are four possible reasons for this delay.
The Child Tax Credit 2021 aims to provide eligible families with $300 every 15th of the month. The money has been allocated for parents and their growing child care expenses like daycare costs and back-to-school supplies. Since August 15 landed on a Sunday, the money was reportedly delivered by the 13th.
Unfortunately, complaints came in from many eligible families. Some people haven't yet receive their July and August child tax credit payments.
Four Reasons Child Tax Credit Payments Are Delayed
There could be a number of different reasons for the IRS holdup. However, Cnet listed out four of the most common situations that might have happened. Check if any of these issues might apply to your account:
4. Paper check over direct deposit
The IRS might be sending a paper check instead of direct deposit. It is important to note that paper checks take considerably longer to process and deliver compared to direct deposit by bank, around 7 to 21 days longer. You can track the arrival of the paper checks by registering on the United States Postal Service (USPS) tracker tool. Full details on how to sign up are available in this article.
3. Wrong address or bank account information
Another reason for the possible delay is having wrong information registered on the IRS database. The IRS might sometimes mark the transaction as "Delivered" even though the recipient never "Received" the money. Double-check if the IRS'information on you is accurate by opening an account in the Child Tax Credit Portal. Here, users can see their mailing address, income, and the number of dependents.
2. Delay in processing transactions
Unlike the reason provided above, a delay in processing is not your fault. This happens when the IRS has not finished analyzing your data, or the bank has not added the money to your account yet. To check on this problem, open your Child Tax Credit Portal. Under the "Payments," search for the "CTC" transaction. If you see this, then don't worry, the payment should come out sometime soon.
1. Victims to tax-related Iientity theft
Unfortunately, if you are a victim of these types of problems, then the IRS will not deliver the payment until you have cleared your name. Remember that if you have a hard time clearing charges this year, then the payment could also be disbursed after the Tax Returns for 2022 have been filed.
How to Track Your $300 Check
After a certain period of waiting has passed, you can opt to open a payment trace to search for your child tax credit payment.
To do this, you need to print and mail a completed Form 3911 from the IRS, link available here. It is suggested to contact a local tax consultant before submitting this form. It is critical to noted that it could take up to 60 days before a response will be made.
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