Don't Mess With Taxes

Are you missing out on monthly Advance Child Tax Credit (AdvCTC) payments? Sign up today to get in the system and start getting checks starting next month.

The Internal Revenue Service will keep sending out the amounts to eligible taxpayers for the next four months.

The payments are up to $300 per month for each qualifying child younger than age 6 and up to $250 per month for each child age 6 through 17. They are either directly deposited if you have a financial account or a paper U.S. Treasury check is mailed around the 15th of each month.

And today, Aug. 30, is the deadline to sign up for credit deliveries starting in September.

Sign up online: If you qualify for an AdvCTC but haven't had to file a tax return for the last few years, get on the IRS distribution list by using the agency's online Non-filer Sign-up tool.

This online option lets you file a simplified tax return via Free File that will get you the 2021 tax year Child Tax Credit payments early.

Not sure whether you should use the AdvCTC sign-up tool? Find out whether you qualify for the early payments by using another online IRS option, the Eligibility Assistant.

Today's, and other, sign-up dates: To get the September payment in a couple of weeks, use the Non-Filer Sign-up tool by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time today, Aug. 30. Note the specific Eastern Time deadline and adjust your filing for time zone where you live.

Signing up for the September advance credit also will get you the AdvCTC amounts for October, November, and December.

But if you do miss today's sign-up deadline, you can get the others by using the online tool by 11:59 p.m. ET on any month's deadline. Those are:

Bigger payments for some: If you're just now signing up for AdvCTC payments, your first amount will be more than the $300 or $250 per child.

The IRS' distribution system is set up to send qualifying families half their eligible amount in 2021. (You'll claim the remainder when you file your taxes next year). So if you didn't start getting the payments when they were first delivered back in July, the IRS will adjust the full amount over the months you do get the AdvCTC amounts.

With the total advance payment spread over fewer months, rather than the full six months, each monthly payment will be larger.

Set up an account for direct deposit: You'll get your AdvCTC payments sooner if you have the IRS directly deposit them into a financial account.

If you don't have one, the IRS recommends you visit the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) website. Its BankFind tool can help you locate an FDIC-insured bank near you.

Also check out the websites of BankOn, American Bankers Association, Independent Community Bankers of America and National Credit Union Administration. Each has lists of banks and credit unions that can open an account online.

Veterans should look into the Veterans Benefits Banking Program for financial services at participating banks.

Finally, you can find out more about the whole payment process, from more about the credit to the various IRS.gov online tools to manage them, at the IRS' Advance Child Tax Credit web page.

You also might find these items of interest:

• 4 family-friendly tax credits
• Pondering potential AdvCTC payback problems
• 6 Advance Child Tax Credit questions still being asked … and the answers!

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