For most eligible American families, the disbursement of last month’s first payments from the expanded child tax credits appeared to go smoothly as roughly sixty million children were able to see direct monetary benefits.  

But as the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department are now gearing up to release the next batch of checks for this month, some “mixed-status” families—those with one parent being a U.S. citizen and the other being an immigrant—have voiced their frustrations that they have yet to see July’s tax credits in their bank accounts.  

In response, the IRS confirmed that July’s nonpayment for these particular families was indeed a mistake.  

IRS to Correct the Issue 

One spokesperson from the tax agency told CBS MoneyWatch that it has “worked expeditiously to correct this issue.” 

“The IRS is aware some taxpayers who filed tax returns with ITIN numbers did not receive their child tax credit payment for July,” the spokesperson said. “These taxpayers will start receiving payments in August. All impacted taxpayers will receive their July payment.”  

As outlined in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, parents who file their federal taxes with either a valid Social Security number or an IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) and whose children possess Social Security numbers to qualify for the child tax credit payments if they also meet income and dependents’ age eligibility.  

In another case regarding eligible families not receiving payments, a new report released by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities revealed that the IRS is still missing the required information for millions of American households that could potentially qualify to receive the credits.  

The latest estimates indicate that about four million children from low-income families are at risk of not seeing any money from the expanded credits. 

Tool for Non-Filers 

For those who don’t file federal tax returns, the IRS already has launched a Non-filer Sign-up Tool for the public to use, which will give the agency the necessary information—such as an address and routing and bank account numbers—to properly disburse the funds. 

“This important new tax change affects millions of families across the nation, and the IRS wants to do everything it can to help people get the payments,” IRS Wage & Investment Commissioner Ken Corbin said in a statement. “Many people miss out on tax benefits simply because they don’t file a tax return. Our work … is designed to help people receive monthly Advance Child Tax Credit payments and Economic Impact Payments.”  

The child tax credit payments for this month are slated to be disbursed on the thirteenth, which is different from the other months that all have pay dates on the fifteenth. This is due to August 15 falling on a Sunday.  

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-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. This article was first published earlier this year.

Image: Reuters