Some parents sent the WRONG child tax credit amount – Find out if you’re owed money

HERE’S how to find out if you’re owed money as some parents across the United States have been sent the wrong child tax credit amount.

As more than 30million families are expecting to obtain Covid relief money from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this week, worth up to $300 per child, some parents have yet to receive their Child Tax Credit (CTC) money.

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The third CTC payment is scheduled to go out today, September 15.

It comes after the first checks went out on July 15 and will continue to go out on the 15th of every month for the rest of 2021.

The monthly checks can be worth as much as $300 for each child under six years old and up to $250 for each child between the ages of six and 17.

According to CNET, wrong monthly payments amounts could have been sent out to households and there are a couple of reasons that explain why.

If you were sent a wrong payment, CNET recommends first checking your CTC eligibility with the help of the IRS’ Eligibility Assistant.

Second, they suggest using CNET’s child tax credit calculator to learn how much money should be sent to you, depending on your income and the ages of dependents in your household.

As for the reasons why, CNET explains the main reason for receiving an inaccurate payment amount could be that the IRS hasn’t accounted for a change in your household’s adjusted gross income or number, and even ages, of children.

If you had a higher income or didn’t claim a dependent on your 2020 tax return, CNET says you could be receiving less of a CTC credit.

Read our Child tax credit live blog for the very latest news and updates…

And if you missed the first CTC payment and received your second in August, the IRS says you should expect larger advance monthly payments — with $360 monthly payments for each child under age and up to $250 monthly for children between 6 and 17 years old, CNET reports.

A wrong higher (or even doubled) payment could also be seen in the IRS’ Update Portal if a bank account has been closed or becomes invalid, CNET explains, noting that the invalid amount could be seen in the portal’s payments processed section.

MISSED PAYMENT

According to CNET, an error by the IRS in July means that several families using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number in mixed-status households didn’t receive the first payment at all.

A household qualifies as mixed-status if one parent is an immigrant, and where any eligible children have Social Security numbers.

IRS MISTAKE

A similar IRS mistake caused many August payments to go out as a check, sent via USPS, even when recipients had signed up for direct deposit.

Households that did not receive their September payments despite being eligible should look for increased payments on their October, November and December payments.

Households that didn’t file tax returns in 2019 or 2020 will need to sign up using the IRS tool to qualify for future payments.

Some families may also have been skipped if they lived in the United States for less than half of 2019 or 2020, or if their financial situations in those years disqualified them from receiving payments–even if those circumstances have changed in 2021.

Families who have new babies or adopted dependents need to update their information in the IRS portal to make sure they receive the credit.

If the payment still hasn’t appeared, taxpayers can start a payment trace by mailing or faxing a completed Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund to the IRS, but only after September 20.

Families keeping watch on their bank accounts for the direct deposit should keep their eyes peeled for the company name “IRS TREAS 310,” and the note “CHILDCTC”  in the check memo or transaction description, according to the White House website.