The IRS commissioner told lawmakers that child tax credit payments may not be issued monthly – and may not start in July

• The $3,000 child tax credit payments approved in the pandemic relief bill may not be sent monthly.
• The payments, which were meant to start in July, may also be delayed, according to the IRS.
• The child tax credit is a government-approved grant for parents with certain income limits.
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The child tax credit payments approved in the most recent coronavirus relief bill may not be sent to parents monthly, and may not even start in July, according to Charles Rettig, the IRS commissioner.

The child tax credit is an allowance for parents within certain income limits. American citizens who qualify for the child tax credit can get part of it as recurring cash payments.

On March 11, President Joe Biden signed into legislative action the $1.9 trillion American package, kickstarting a massive government rescue effort for struggling families, in which the child tax credit was significantly increased.

The legislation means families will be eligible to receive $3,000 annual benefits per child from ages 6 to 17, and $3,600 per child under the age of 6 for the 2021 tax year.

The child tax credit payments were scheduled to start in July as monthly payments, instead of a lump sum. That now may not happen, especially since the IRS has extended the tax-filing season for citizens to May 17 from April 15, Rettig said during a hearing with the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday.

The IRS now only has limited time to devote to implementing and initiating a portal for the program, which must happen by July 1. Rettig said: "I don't have the resources to devote to that portal until the filing season ends. It might be a challenge to get it monthly right out of the box."

The commissioner also specified that in the final bill, payments were changed to be sent periodically as opposed to monthly, to give the agency more flexibility. "We're focused on trying to get these payments out to the people in a meaningful manner and a meaningful timeframe," he said at the hearing.