You won’t get a payment in January, but you can expect more enhanced child tax credit money to arrive this year.

While you won’t receive a child tax credit payment in January, more money is coming this year when you file your tax return. You’ll need to keep an eye out for a letter in the mail from the IRS with details about your child tax credit payday loans New Mexico that you’ll need for your taxes — it’ll be marked Letter 6419. If you’ve already received the notice, don’t toss it.

Filing your taxes will give you a chance to claim any child tax credit money you didn’t receive in 2021 — for instance, if you opted out or if you had a baby later in the year. The IRS letter will tell you how much money you received in 2021 and the number of qualifying dependents used to calculate the payment amounts to compare with your current household situation.

After the remainder of the enhanced payments goes out, you may be wondering what comes next and whether Congress will eventually reauthorize the payments. We’ll explain the latest on the child tax credit payments. We’ll also tell you what to expect when you file your taxes this year . This story is updated regularly.

Keep the child tax credit letter stored with your tax documents

The IRS said it started sending out Letter 6419 to families in late December and will continue sending it through January. If you haven’t received the letter yet, keep an eye on your mailbox, because you’ll need it when you file your taxes this year. The note contains important information about your child tax credit payments that you’ll need to double-check for accuracy — for instance, the number of dependents used to determine the amount of money you get.

Amount of child tax credit money you could get with your tax refund this year

If you and your family meet the income eligibility requirements and you received each payment between July and December last year, you can expect to receive up to $1,800 for each child age 5 and younger, or up to $1,500 for each child between the ages of 6 and 17, when you file your 2021 taxes.

If you opted out of receiving payments before the first check went out, you’ll get the full amount you qualify for at once — up to $3,600 per child under 6 and $3,000 per child 6-17. Any payments you missed due to IRS errors or because you unenrolled should be included with your tax refund.

What if you’re still missing one or more payments from last year?

If you’re missing money from one of the previous checks due to an IRS error or outdated information, you can either wait for the issue to be resolved when you file your taxes or you can file a payment trace with the IRS. Before you do that, track your check to make sure it’s not already on the way.

Note that if you gained a dependent since you last filed taxes, the IRS wouldn’t have that information on file. If that’s your case, you won’t get any money until you file your taxes.

Will the monthly payments you received in 2021 affect your taxes this year?

The child tax credit payments you got this year could potentially affect your taxes (for better or worse). Here’s how:

• You received an overpayment and the IRS didn’t adjust the amount on later payments. You’ll have to pay this back.
• You received payments you didn’t qualify for. You’ll have to pay the IRS back.
• Your income changed, and you didn’t report it to the IRS. This could result in a larger or smaller tax refund or you owing the IRS, depending on if your income was higher or lower than what the IRS used to calculate your payment.
• You opted out of the payments last year, so your payout will be larger this year.
• You received money for a child who turned 18 last year. You may have to pay that money back.

How to get your child tax credit money if you had a baby or adopted in 2021

If you had a baby by the end of December — or adopted one — you’ll be eligible for up to $3,600 for that child when you file your taxes. That includes back pay for the July through December advance payments and the chunk coming with your refund.

You should get that money when you claim your child on your tax return, which will let the IRS know about your household changes.

For more information, here’s how to calculate how much child tax credit money you should get, how to use the IRS portals to update your household details and how to contact the IRS about child tax credit questions.