Stimulus Checks 2022: 4 million American families still owed $3.7 billion; Is yours one of them

A recent audit of child tax credit payments – a provision of the American Rescue Plan passed amid the COVID-19 pandemic – showed the IRS delivered the overwhelming majority correctly.

However, the small margin of error represents a massive number, with some $3.7 billion still owed to eligible taxpayers.

The audit, conducted by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration,  reviewed the Internal Revenue Service’s handling of the expanded child tax credit.

The expansion increased the credit from $2,000 to $3,600 for each child younger than six and $3,000 for children under age 18. Half of the total – $1,800 or $1,500 – was payable in six monthly installments of $300 or $250 starting July 2021, with the rest refundable with tax returns.

The payments were made from July through December 2021, but efforts to extend them into 2022 failed.

The audit reviewed 178.9 million child tax credit payments made between July and November 2021, totaling more than $76.7 billion. Of those, 175.6 million totaling about $75.6 billion, were distributed correctly.

However, 3.3 million payments worth more than $1.1 billion were sent to 1.5 million taxpayers who did not qualify. Also, the IRS did not send 8.3 million payments worth about $3.7 billion to 4.1 million eligible taxpayers.

Visit the official site for information on filing returns and more on child tax credits.

The review also identified 11.459 payments worth $4.2 million that were erroneously sent to 523 bank accounts and incorrect updates to direct deposit information for 1,610 taxpayers with the bank account information associated with things like health savings accounts.

It’s not too late for youth experiencing homelessness to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit #EITC on a 2021 tax return, as long as they were at least 18 by Dec. 31, 2021 and otherwise qualified. Help #IRS spread the word: https://t.co/AqeTmmpsRX #WorldHomelessDay pic.twitter.com/584QFagu58

— IRSnews (@IRSnews) October 10, 2022

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