Child tax credit payments start this month. How to get them sent to the right place
Families receiving child tax credit payments can now use an online tool to make sure the benefits go to the right place.
The tax credits provide eligible families with up to $3,600 per child over the course of a year. The first half of the credits will go out as monthly payments of up to $300, which start July 15 and run through the end of the year. The second half can be claimed when filing income taxes for 2021.
The Internal Revenue Service says eligible families can now use its Child Tax Credit Update Portal to update bank account information to decide where the future payments will be deposited.
How to update your information
The Child Tax Credit Update portal can be found here.
Families can first check if they are eligible for the payments, then confirm if they will receive them through direct deposit. If so, they can see the account they have on file with the IRS, which is where payments will be deposited.
“This is the account that will receive their July 15 payment, and if they don’t change the account, all future payments will go there as well,” the IRS says.
Families can then choose to change which bank account the payments will be sent to, starting Aug. 13. Changes will need to be made by Aug. 2 to apply to the Aug. 13 payment and future payments.
“They can do that by updating the routing number and account number and indicating whether it is a savings or checking account,” the IRS says. “Note that only one account number is permitted for each recipient — that is, the entire payment must be direct deposited in only one account.”
Families can also use the tool to enroll in direct deposits if they are set to receive the payments through the mail.
“The IRS urges any family receiving checks to consider switching to direct deposit,” the IRS says. “With direct deposit, families can access their money more quickly. Direct deposit removes the time, worry and expense of cashing a check. In addition, direct deposit eliminates the chance of a lost, stolen or undelivered check.”
The IRS also says to watch out for child tax credit scams.
“People who need to update their bank account information should go directly to the IRS.gov site and not click on links received by email, text or phone,” the IRS says.
About the child tax credit
The temporarily enhanced credits were included in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the COVID-19 relief package President Biden signed into law in March.
Eligible families will receive $3,600 overall per child under age 6 and $3,000 overall per child ages 6 to 17 in benefits.
Single parents earning up to $75,000 a year and couples earning up to $150,000 a year are eligible for the full credit. Benefits are phased out after that.
Families have the option to unenroll from the monthly payments and instead receive the full credit as a lump sum when they file their 2021 tax returns. The deadline to opt out of the payment scheduled for July 15 was June 28.
Families can still opt out of receiving future payments using the Child Tax Credit Update Portal.
This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 9:11 AM with the headline "Child tax credit payments start this month. How to get them sent to the right place."
