5th Payment of Child Tax Credit to Go Out Next Week; Final Payment Scheduled for December Unless Lawmakers Renew

Money from the Child Tax Credit program is scheduled to deposit into American parents’ bank accounts on Monday. December’s payment will be the last one unless lawmakers decide to renew the benefit.

Parents can expect the payment to hit their bank accounts on November 15, unless they receive the check via mail, which could add additional days before they get it.

After that, the sixth and final check is scheduled to hit accounts on December 15. 

The expanded Child Tax Credit boosted the benefit to $3,600 for each child under 6, and $3,000 for kids ages 6 to 17, with half of those amounts going out in monthly checks from July through December. During this period, families received monthly payments of $300 for kids under 6 and $250 for each child age 6 to 17, CBS News reported.

For those that register now for the CTC, they will get six months’ worth of the payments in December: $1,800 for each younger child and $1,500 for older kids and for those that qualify for the payments, can receive the other half of the expanded CTC after they file their taxes in early 2022, via a tax refund.

If a family misses the November 15 deadline, they are still able to receive the entire tax credit in early 2022, but they must file their taxes and claim the credit on their 2021 tax return. 

This however does pose a greater risk of losing out on the income for low-income households who typically aren’t required to file their taxes, according to a new study from the Urban

Institute about the rollout of the payments. 

“Families with very low incomes are not required to file tax returns, though some do,” the Urban Institute study noted. “Those who do not, non-filers, are at risk of missing out on the advance CTC payments before December when payments of the 2021 credit will stop.”

It added, there’s a risk: “They could also miss out on the credit entirely when tax returns are due in early 2022, given the challenges the IRS faces identifying and reaching non-filers.”

Code for America, a technology nonprofit, has estimated that there are about 4 million families that don’t file taxes. The organization worked with the White House to create www.GetCTC.org to help those receive the payments if they don’t file taxes.

The IRS had also opened a non-filer portal for the CTC, however, it is now closed but does direct people to GetCTC.org. People will need to file a simplified tax return through the site, which does require information such as your Social Security number, your income, and information on dependents. 

The fate of the expanded CTC is unclear as Democrats continue to negotiate over spending priorities. The tax credit, in its current form, may only be extended for another year or two, despite the four years it has been advocated for by the White House.