The first payments going out as part of the expanded Child Tax Credit went out on July 15, but there are reports that a glitch prevented some families from receiving their payments.

According to CBS News, there was an IRS glitch that stopped the payments for a certain group of families: “Mixed families,” in which one parent is a U.S. citizen and the other an immigrant.

“One such worker, who asked that their name not be used because of concern about their immigration status with their employer, said they had been expecting $250 for their child, who is a U.S. citizen, as is their spouse,” CBS reported. “But when the money didn't arrive on July 15, they soon realized that many other "mixed-status" families had experienced the same problem.”

Under the legislation, families are eligible for the payments if one parent files with a Social Security number and the other uses an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), provided that their children have Social Security numbers. However, a glitch made it that some families in that specific situation did not receive their money.

There was a similar issue earlier this year, with the stimulus checks from the American Rescue Plan.

"The IRS is aware some taxpayers who filed tax returns with ITIN numbers did not receive their child tax credit payment for July," a spokesperson for the IRS told CBS as part of the story. "These taxpayers will start receiving payments in August. All impacted taxpayers will receive their July payment."  

The first payments from the expanded Child Tax Credit went out July 15, and they will follow every month for the rest of 2021. Due to August 15 following on a Sunday, the August payment will go out on August 13, which is a Friday. The rest will go out on the 15th of the month every month through December.

“This first batch of advance monthly payments worth roughly $15 billion reached about thirty-five million families today across the country. About eighty-six percent were sent by direct deposit,” the IRS said in its official announcement on the day of the July 15 payments.

It’s not expected that any additional stimulus checks will go out, at least anytime soon, as the Biden Administration has not expressed interest in doing so.

However, a group of Democratic House members, led by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), last week introduced a pair of bills to send stimulus checks as well as a guaranteed income to most Americans. The two bills are called Sending Unconditional Payments to People Overcoming Resistances to Triumph (SUPPORT) Act and the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) Act.

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters