The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has confirmed the $300 IRS payment for the Child Tax Credit (CTC), which is a program designed for households with dependents. In recent years, this tax refund has been extremely beneficial, particularly for low-income households. For this filing season, the average sum for households that choose the CTC is up to $2,000, with $1,600 refundable. Taxpayers who applied and were approved would now automatically get an additional $300 payment.
IRS payment application procedure
If you live with children or other dependents who qualify, you may be eligible for the IRS credit. You must list all dependents on the IRS Form 1040, which is now required for individual income tax filings. Additionally, to determine if they owe money from the 2021 Advanced Child Tax Credit (CTC) installments, IRS credit seekers must fill out and submit the Schedule 8812 Form. Remember that for a child to be considered a dependent for tax purposes, they must meet certain requirements:
- No older than 16 at the end of last year.
- a brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, eligible foster child, son, daughter, or descendant of any of these.
- Must not provide more than half of their financial assistance.
- Must have lived with the claimant for at least half a year.
- They may not file a joint return with their spouse.
- Must be a United States citizen, national, or resident alien.
The Child Tax Credit will help three million children leave poverty and save 39 million low- and middle-income families. An average of $2,600 in taxes will be reinstated as a result of the IRS credit expansion, as President Biden stated in his most recent budget statement. This extension would also make an additional two million children living with a caregiver who is at least sixty years old and an additional eighteen million children in low-income households eligible for the full IRS benefit.
The Child Tax Credit is set to increase from $2,000 to $3,000 per child for those over six years old, and to $3,600 for those under six. Parents will be able to receive their credits by making monthly upfront payments of up to $300 per child, which are fully refundable. The proposed extension is expected to benefit almost 16 million children in its first year, with 400,000 lifted out of poverty. The US Department of the Treasury has also proposed restarting advanced monthly payments to provide more timely assistance.
IRS payment: Why are some tax refund payments taking longer than expected?
As reported by Forbes, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) processed 2% fewer tax returns this season and received 1.7% less overall compared to the previous year. Many people are wondering why it takes longer to complete tax returns even though this year’s filing window is shorter than last year’s, with a one-week delayed opening and a nine-day earlier closing.
Most IRS refunds are processed and sent within 21 days of receipt, and taxpayers can constantly check the IRS payment status on the “Where Is My Refund?” tool. However, some taxpayers could have been experiencing some delays due to several reasons. The IRS recently stated that tax returns can be delayed for a variety of reasons, including postal delivery, errors or incompleteness that require further investigation, identity theft or fraud, suspicious activity from a bank, and an injured spouse allocation form, which can take up to 14 weeks to process.
As of March 1, the IRS has granted an average tax refund of $3,182, a 5.1% increase over the same filing period in 2023. Based on Barrons estimates, the trend might not continue, as refund amounts decreased by 13% between March and April.