Child Tax Credit 2022: What to do if you didn’t get your payment

ENHANCED federal child tax credits lapsed at the beginning of 2022, but Americans can nevertheless claim the additional money if they didn’t obtain it last year.

The last payment for 2021 was sent to families on December 15.

The amounts were part of the American Rescue Plan, with the first monthly advance child tax credits (CTC) payments sent in July.

Families received an additional $300 per month per child under the age of six, totaling $1,800.

Because of the expanded Child Tax Credit, child poverty in America dropped by a third.

So why did Congress let it expire?

The oligarchy didn’t want to pay for it.
@SolanaRice explains. pic.twitter.com/zP6mBGdw07

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) September 30, 2022

Parents with children ages six to 17 received up to $250 per month per child for a total of $1,500.

Households receiving the advance CTC payments should have disbursed half of their tax credit from July to December.

The other half should have been claimed on 2022 tax returns.

If you’re still waiting on money, there are a few things you can do.

Check with the IRS

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) set up an online portal for people to check if they’re eligible and enrolled.

The link will lead you through a series of questions.

First, you’ll be asked if you claimed the child tax credit on your most recent tax return and whether you plan to claim it on your 2021 return if you haven’t already filed.

Joe Biden’s IRS sent more than $1 BILLION in child tax credit payments last year to millions of Americans who weren’t eligible for the free cash.

But don’t worry, you can trust them when they hire 87,000 new agents!

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) September 29, 2022

If “no” is your answer, you do not qualify for advance CTC payments.

Make sure your information is current.

If your information is not up-to-date, that could affect payments.

For example, if only one parent in a married household corrected banking or a mailing address, it could have reduced the payment amount.

Also, parents might have received more money than they qualify for due to outdated tax information from old returns, which could affect your taxes in 2022.

The IRS may not have an up-to-date mailing address or banking information for you.

The US Postal Service may hold up the mailed check, or the direct deposit payment might still be being processed if it was a recent payment.

Plus, if you’ve been a victim of tax-related identity theft, you won’t receive child tax credit payments until those issues have been resolved with the IRS.

Did you file a tax return?

If you filed tax returns for 2019 and 2020 and have dependents, you should have received the monthly payments without needing action.

If you have not filed tax returns, you can go to getctc.org.

You’ll file a simplified version of your tax credits there.

The American Rescue Plan was huge for Pennsylvania.

1) 2.4 Million kids got Child Tax Credit.
2) 250k Pennsylvanians received rental assistance.
3) $1.3 billion helped stabilize child care providers.

We have more to do, but this one bill is still making an impact. pic.twitter.com/BkZTdfaVqJ

— Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (@malcolmkenyatta) September 29, 2022

The site was created with the backing of the White House and the US Department of Treasury.

Should you contact the IRS?

You may have questions about your child tax credit eligibility, a missing check, or changes to your information.

There’s limited live assistance due to the tax return backlog, delayed stimulus checks, and unemployment tax refunds.

The IRS has not announced a separate phone number for child tax credit questions, but the main number for tax-related questions is 800-829-1040.

IRS sent over $1 billion in child tax credit payments to ineligible households: audit https://t.co/l8aqh2YB05 pic.twitter.com/BLliFjfzgS

— New York Post (@nypost) September 28, 2022

Instead of calling, it may be faster to check the IRS website for answers to your questions.

And remember that the Update Portal can help with eligibility, payment history, and update your personal information online.