WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service launched a new feature that allows any family receiving monthly Child Tax Credit payments to quickly and easily update their mailing address through the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, found exclusively on IRS.gov. This feature will help any family that chooses to receive their payment by paper check to avoid postage delays or even a check being returned for failure to deliver.

Any family can easily receive their September check and all future checks mailed to their new address by using the portal to make an address change request. For the change to take effect in September, individuals must complete the application by midnight ET on Monday, August 30. Families can still make changes after that date, but their request will not be effective until the next scheduled monthly payment.

If you change your mailing address with the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, the IRS will use this updated address for all future IRS correspondence, so the address change feature may also be useful for taxpayers who receive their payments through direct deposit. For example, the IRS will mail a year-end statement (Letter 6419) to each taxpayer who received advance payments of the Child Tax Credit during 2021 and having a current address on file with the IRS will ensure prompt delivery of this statement.

Families will need Letter 6419 to quickly and accurately complete their 2021 federal income tax return next year. This is important because, for most families, the advance payments they receive during 2021 cover only half of the total credit. They will claim the remaining portion on your 2021 tax return.

The address change feature joins a growing suite of services available through the Child Tax Credit Update Portal. Available only on IRS.gov, the portal already allows families to verify their eligibility for payments and then, if they choose:

• Switch from receiving a paper check to direct deposit;
• Change the account where your payment is deposited directly; or
• Stop monthly payments for the remainder of 2021.

Any of these changes made before midnight ET on August 30 will apply to the September 15 payment and all subsequent monthly payments, scheduled for October 15, November 15, and December 15.