The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department announced today that millions of American families will soon receive their advance Child Tax Credit (CTC) payment for the month of November. Low-income families who are not getting payments and have not filed a tax return can still get one, but they must sign up on IRS.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Monday, Nov. 15.
This fifth batch of advance monthly payments, totaling about $15 billion, will reach about 36 million families across the country. The majority of payments are being made by direct deposit.
Under the American Rescue Plan, most eligible families received payments dated July 15, Aug. 13, Sept. 15 and Oct. 15. The last payment for 2021 is scheduled for Dec. 15. For these families, each payment is up to $300 per month for each child under age 6 and up to $250 per month for each child ages 6 through 17.
Here are more details on the November payments:
- Families will see the direct deposit payments in their accounts starting Nov. 15. Like the prior payments, the vast majority of families will receive them by direct deposit.
- For those receiving payments by paper check, be sure to allow extra time, through the end of November, for delivery by mail.
- Those wishing to receive their December payment by direct deposit can make this change using the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, available only on IRS.gov. Be sure to make the change by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Nov. 29. To access the portal, visit IRS.gov/childtaxcredit2021.
- Payments are going to eligible families who filed a 2019 or 2020 income tax return. Returns processed by Nov. 1 are reflected in these payments. This includes people who don’t typically file a return but either during 2020 successfully filed a return to register for Economic Impact Payments using the IRS Non-Filers tool on IRS.gov, or in 2021 successfully filed a return by using the Non-filer Sign-up Tool for advance CTC.
- Payments are automatic. Aside from filing a tax return, including a return from the Non-filer Sign-up Tool, families don’t have to do anything if they are eligible to receive monthly payments.
- Families who did not get a July, August, September or October payment and 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). This means that the total payment will be spread over two months, rather than six, making each monthly payment larger.
Sign up by Nov. 15
Recently, the IRS sent letters to many Americans urging them to check out the Child Tax Credit and if they qualify, to sign up soon to get advance payments. Whether or not they got one of these letters, an eligible family who is not already getting monthly payments can still sign up to get an advance payment of the Child Tax Credit.
Treasury and IRS urge any low-income family who doesn’t normally need to file a return to sign up now to get their payment. The deadline is 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Monday, November 15.
Right now, they can only sign up online. To do so, quickly and securely, visit IRS.gov/childtaxcredit2021. Families can choose to file either in English or Spanish.
Families signing up now will normally receive half of their total Child Tax Credit on Dec. 15. This means a payment of up to $1,800 for each child under 6, and up to $1,500 for each child age 6 to 17. This is the same total amount that most other families have been receiving in up to six monthly payments that began in July.
Any family who receives advance payments of the CTC during 2021 can claim the rest of the credit when they file their 2021 Federal income tax return. To help them do that, early in 2022 families will receive Letter 6419 documenting any advance payments issued to them during 2021 and the number of qualifying children used to calculate the advance payments.
Families can make changes to their account
Families who are already receiving monthly payments can use the Child Tax Credit Update Portal (CTC-UP) to quickly update their accounts. Available only on IRS.gov, CTC-UP already allows families to verify their eligibility for the payments and then if they choose to:
- Switch from receiving a paper check to direct deposit;
- Change the account where their payment is direct deposited;
- Update their mailing address;
- Stop monthly payments and
- Reflect significant changes in their income that could potentially raise or lower their monthly payments.
Updates made by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Nov. 29 will be reflected in the monthly payment scheduled for Dec. 15.
Later this month, the IRS will launch a Spanish-language version of the tool. In addition, new features will be added to enable families to raise or lower their final monthly payment to reflect life changes, such as another child born or adopted in 2021.
Community partners can help
The IRS encourages partners and community groups to share information and use available online tools and toolkits to help non-filers, low-income families and other underserved groups sign up to receive these benefits.
