Child Tax Credit: How Parents Who Have a New Baby in 2021 May Claim Money

Parents who are eligible to receive child tax credit payments have benefited from the rollout since July 2021. However, moms and dads who recently welcomed a new baby or may be expecting a child this year, either through birth or adoption, can still receive the full payment of $3,600.

According to CNET, parents who have a new or incoming dependent could declare their baby on their 2021 tax return, which should be filed on April 2022. However, this means that they would need to wait to receive the lumpsum child tax credit payment of $3,600, which was how the former system worked before the expansion of the benefit during the pandemic.

Moms or dads who prefer to get the monthly payments will need to declare their new dependents on the Child Tax Credit Portal. However, the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) said that the feature to add or drop dependents will still be updated on the website this fall. As of press time, the IRS hasn't announced the changes to the portal's feature.

Read Also: A 12-Week Paid Family Leave Policy Has Started Moving in Congress

New Baby Payments Schedule

Parents with newborns between January to July 2021, who were able to inform the IRS of their new dependent, are likely getting their monthly payments since the rollout in July. However, if the declaration was not made, the parents will have to wait for the online portal update from the IRS.

Families with babies born or adopted between July to November 2021 may have likely missed out on the child tax credit payments last July, August, and September. However, once they can update the information on the portal, they will receive the monthly payments they were supposed to get during the scheduled rollout. The IRS said that these monthly payments would be adjusted to include the missed payments.

On the other hand, updates and adjustments on the Child Tax Credit Portal will no longer apply for new babies or dependents born in December 2021. Mom or dads expecting a child at the end of the year can expect the full disbursement when they file taxes on April 2022.

This payment will no longer cover babies born in 2022 unless the federal government extends the child tax credit for the next financial year. The House Democrats are still deliberating on the extension. If approved, parents may continue to receive the payments by 2025.

Missed September Payment

Meanwhile, some parents have informed the press that they haven't received the expected child tax credit payment for September 15, despite receiving the benefit in July and August. The IRS acknowledged problems with the system, which also happened during the distribution of the August payments.

Over $15 billion were disbursed to 35 million families for this third batch of monthly payments. Usually, the IRS will send out a check payment through the mail if the automatic bank transfer has failed. If this is the case, eligible taxpayers will need to wait for a few more weeks to receive their checks.

The standard waiting time for missed payments is five days for bank deposits, four weeks for direct mail, and nine weeks for direct mail to a foreign address. However, some parents might also want to formally file a Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund or Form 3911 if they still have not received payments for July and August, which may be faxed or mailed to the IRS. Tracing missed payments will take weeks to process.

Related Article: Families to Get Third Child Tax Credit Payment; First Lady Jill Biden Pushes for Extension