November 13, 2021
Candace J. Dixon
The IRS announced in a November 12 news release that 36 million families will receive their advance Child Tax Credit payments for November in a fifth batch of payments totaling $15 billion, with most payments being made by direct deposit and set to hit accounts starting November 15. People who get their payments via check should allow extra time through the end of November for mail delivery.
These payments reflect returns processed by November 1 including eligible families who filed a 2019 or 2020 income tax return; filed a return to register for Economic Impact Payments using the IRS Non-Filers tool; or used the IRS Non-filer Sign-up Tool for advance CTC in 2021.
People who are getting their first monthly payment this month will still receive their total advance payment amount for the year - which is half of their total Child Tax Credit - spread over November and December.
The last payment for 2021 is scheduled for December 15. People who want to receive their December payment by direct deposit instead of by check can make that change using the Child Tax Credit Update Portal on the IRS website by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on November 29. Other changes that can be made in the portal are changing the account where payments are being deposited; updating mailing addresses; stopping monthly payments; and reporting significant changes to income that might increase or decrease the monthly payments.
The IRS recently sent letters to many people encouraging them to see if they qualify for the Child Tax Credit and to sign up to get advance payments if they do. Eligible people who are not already getting payments can still sign up on the IRS website to get an advance payment of the Child Tax Credit whether they received a letter or not. The deadline is 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Monday, November 15.
Eligible people who sign up now will typically receive half of their total Child Tax Credit on December 15, which is a payment of up to $1,800 for each child under 6, and up to $1,500 for each child aged 6 to 17.
People who received advance payments of the Child Tax Credit during 2021 can claim the rest of the credit when they file their 2021 federal tax return. They will receive Letter 6419 early in 2022 documenting advance payments issued to them during 2021 and the number of qualifying children used to calculate the payments to help them.
Additional Resources: