child tax credit advance payment is missing
Coming soon, if you received advance payments of the child tax credit, you’ll need to reconcile the payments received between July and December with the full amount of the credit you’re eligible for in tax year 2021; this reconciliation will be reported on your 2021 individual tax return.
That means there’s a limited time for the IRS to track down a missing payment, which takes several weeks at best, and correct their records before you file, so your tax return doesn’t get caught. in a manual review. situation. If the payments the IRS shows as issued do not match what you say you received, this will delay the processing of your return while the discrepancy is reconciled. Therefore, it is best to request that the IRS begin tracking a missing payment as soon as possible.
So, ask yourself: Did you have an advance payment of the child tax credit showing on your account as issued, but did not receive the payment? If so, here’s what you should do ASAP to find out what happened to you:
- Step 1: Double check the irs child tax credit update portal to make sure it shows that a payment was sent, when it was sent, and how it was sent (deposit direct or check ).
- Step 2: Check all your bank accounts to make sure the appropriate deposit has not been lost; or check with your spouse to make sure you didn’t get the check in the mail, cashed it, and simply forgot to tell them. once you’re sure the payment is missing, see the next step.
- step 3: request a payment tracking to track your payment if you haven’t received it after the deadlines down. the irs won’t be able to track your payment unless it’s been:
- 5 days from the deposit date and the bank says they haven’t received the payment;
- 4 weeks from the deposit date deposit payment was mailed by check to a standard address;
- 6 weeks from when payment was mailed and you have a forwarding address on file with your local post office;
- 9 weeks from when the payment was sent the payment was sent by post and you have a foreign address.
- do not request a payment follow-up to determine if you were eligible for a payment or to confirm the amount of payment you should have received.
- no Mail Form 3911 if you have already requested a trace over the phone.
completing form 3911
- be sure to complete sections i, ii and iii. the top section of the form and section iv are for the irs to complete.
- when completing point 7 of section 1: check the box “individual” as the type of declaration
- enter “2021” as the tax period
- do not write anything for filing date
irs form 3911 mailing addresses and fax numbers
note: do not send anything other than a 3911 form to the fax numbers below.
if you live in…
then mail it to this address…
or send a fax to…
what to expect
The IRS will process your claim, working with the Treasury Department’s Tax Service Office to track the status of the payment and provide further instructions to follow, as appropriate.
This usually takes around 6 weeks, but can take longer depending on the circumstances. You can obtain the updated status of the affected IRS operations and servicesby following the link.
more resources
- child tax credit advance payments in 2021 | Spanish │ Simplified Chinese │ Traditional Chinese │ Korean | Russian │ Vietnamese | Haitian Creole
- Questions and Answers about Child Tax Credit Advance Payments |Spanish
- 2021 Child Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit Advance Payments: Resources and Guidance | Spanish
- Children’s Tax Credit Update Portal