At this point, we’re almost at the halfway mark in the federal government’s distribution of a six-check series of child tax credit payments. The payments being new stimulus checks, of a sort. And which stem from the $1.9 trillion relief legislation that Congress passed, and President Biden signed, back in March.
We’re a little more than three weeks out from the third child tax credit check being sent out by the IRS. That’s scheduled to happen on September 15. And these checks, remember, are one half of an advance payment of the temporarily expanded child tax credit. With the second half of the total amount scheduled to come next year, as a normal tax credit. Meanwhile, the IRS over the weekend shared an important update that child tax credit payment recipients. And there are several million of you — might want to take note of.
Child tax credit payments update
Head over to the IRS website to read the update in full. But basically, it involves an update to the online child tax credit portal. An update that those of you who are receiving these payments as paper checks, in the mail, need to know. “The Internal Revenue Service has launched a new feature allowing any family receiving monthly Child Tax Credit payments to quickly and easily update their mailing address using the Child Tax Credit Update Portal,” the update notes. “This feature will help any family that chooses to receive their payment by paper check avoid mailing delays or even having a check returned as undeliverable.”
Any family can have their September check and all future checks, the update continues, sent to their new address by using the portal to make an address change request. In order for the change take effect in September, though, the clock is ticking. People will need to complete the request before midnight Eastern Time on Monday, August 30.
“Families can still make changes after that date,” the IRS says, “but their request will not be effective until the next scheduled monthly payment.”
Additional points to know
Since we’re almost halfway through the child tax credit distribution, here’s something else to know. The IRS says it will mail out a year-end summary (Letter 6419) to all taxpayers who got these checks. Which, again, is all the more reason why having the right address on file with the tax agency is important.
Families will need Letter 6419 to accurately fill out their 2021 federal income tax return next year. “This is important because, for most families, the advance payments they are receiving during 2021 cover only half of the total credit,” the IRS says. “They will claim the remaining portion on their 2021 tax return.”
