Tens of millions of American families should expect to see their fourth enhanced child tax credit payments land in their respective bank accounts starting today.

Last month, according to the Internal Revenue Service, approximately thirty-five million families were on the receiving end of direct payments, which amounted to an average of $428.

Due to President Joe Biden’s ambitious stimulus bill, eligible parents and guardians are now able to receive as much as $3,600 per year for a child under the age of six and up to $3,000 for children between ages six and seventeen.

Broken down, this means that a $250 or a $300 payment for each child will be direct deposited each month through the end of the year. Moreover, parents can claim the other half of the total payments as a refund come next tax season.

Some Families Not Getting Checks

However, the agency has also confirmed that there have been ongoing issues in getting the funds to some households, particularly poorer families who haven’t signed up on available portals.

The Biden administration did recently launch a brand-new mobile-friendly online portal—GetCTC.org—in an effort to assist low-income Americans who don’t generally file taxes claim the child tax credits or the missing stimulus checks.

“Many people miss out on tax benefits simply because they don’t file a tax return,” IRS Wage & Investment Commissioner Ken Corbin, who also serves as the agency’s Chief Taxpayer Experience Officer, said in a statement.

Do take note that the IRS’ Non-filer Sign-up Tool can also be used to give the tax agency the required information—such as a valid address and routing and bank account numbers—to promptly issue the credits. The IRS also has a new feature that enables any eligible family to update their mailing address using the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, which can also be used to change their bank account information for any future direct deposits.

Children Benefiting

Since the child tax credit payments started rolling out in mid-July, it has been revealed that the funds are reaching more than sixty million children.

“Sixty-one million children across America are benefiting from the advance Child Tax Credit, helping families put food on the table and meet the needs of the next generation,” Treasury Department Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.

“We want every eligible family to have access to the advance Child Tax Credit, which is why we will continue our outreach efforts to drive enrollment as our children return to school,” he continued.

There also have been growing calls to extend the enhanced credits beyond this year.

“Congress should make it a top priority to extend the monthly payments and ensure that the full credit remains permanently available to children in families with the lowest incomes,” wrote Claire Zippel, senior research analyst at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Washington state-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Image: Reuters.