The deadline to unenroll from the child tax credit program was Monday night, that is if you are eligible and prefer to receive a lump sum refund check after you file.
If you did not unenroll, you’ll still receive a July payment, but the deadline to stop an August payment is August 2nd. IRS Spokesperson Aaron Wiley said you can unrenroll at the Child Tax Credit portal on IRS.gov.
“If they missed that deadline, they can always unenroll after that. They’ll just receive that first payment of July 15th, but they won’t receive any other payments,” said Wiley.
Wiley said if parents file joint returns both must unenroll to stop the monthly payments.
Parents who will be automatic recipients of the child tax credit should have already received a letter in the mail about their eligibility. Wiley said, however, if your income has changed since you last filed, you can visit the Child Tax Credit Portal and check eligibility.
“Once if they’ve determined if they’re eligible or not, they can go in and, if they haven’t filed a 2020 tax return, there’s a non-filer tool that they can use to file a simplified 2020 tax return and get signed up,” said Wiley.
The IRS website has had to undergo several updates and offer portals for taxpayers to update their address, income, and banking information that might have changed since they last filed their taxes in order to receive payments. Wiley said the IRS is trying to be as accommodating as possible.
“The IRS is doing all that it can to make sure that the options to opt-out or to have your information updated is available to any taxpayer that wishes to do that,” said Wiley.
For more information visit childtaxcredit.gov or IRS.gov