Why Is My CTC Eligibility Pending?

Are you wondering why your Child Tax Credit (CTC) eligibility is pending? We know why.

The IRS is providing eligible families with payments ranging from $250 to $300 per month. Those with children under the age of six will receive $300 per month, while those with children between the ages of six and seventeen will receive $250.

The Child Tax Credit is one of several advance payments made by the IRS to families that are eligible for the federal government’s child tax program, which began on July 15.

A taxpayer must have a modified adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less for single filers, $150,000 or less for married couples filing jointly, or $112,500 or less for heads of households to be eligible for the entire amount.

The benefit is not available to single or head-of-household filers earning more than $240,000, or married couples earning more than $440,000.

Why Your CTC Eligibility is Pending

If you find your eligibility listed as “pending” on the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, It means the IRS is still reviewing the account’s eligibility, and you won’t get a payment until the IRS determines that you qualify.

If you’ve already filed your 2019 or 2020 tax return and claimed the child tax credit, or if you’ve submitted your information through the IRS’s non-filers portal, your family won’t have to do anything to get the advance payments.

If your income or tax status changes in 2021, you may need to update your tax information in the Child Tax Credit Portal.

If you adopt a child or give birth to a child after filing your 2020 tax return, the IRS may not be aware. As a result, you must enter that information into the IRS portal.

Tracking child tax credit payments

You can check if the payment was delivered or if it is still waiting using the Child Tax Credit Portal.

You can seek a payment trace if payment is marked as delivered but not received, and it has been at least five days since a direct deposit or four weeks since the IRS mailed the payment to your address.