You’ll need more than a calculator to keep track of your child tax credit payments.
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It may feel like the child tax credit payments just started, but after sending September’s batch of checks in a few weeks, the IRS will be halfway through making the monthly payments for a while. As a reminder, unless you opt out of the monthly payments in favor of a larger lump sum later, the IRS is sending half of the money you qualify for this year, with the remainder arriving after you submit taxes in 2022.

The IRS has a collection of tools that you can use to manage your monthly payments and check on their status, but the IRS has assigned different deadlines each month you need to hit if you want the changes to take effect with your next payment

Here are the important deadlines you want to keep track of if you want to know when the payments will arrive, opt out of payments or make other changes, such as having your checks come as direct deposit to your bank. For more on the child tax credit, here are three reasons you may want to unenroll from the remaining payments this year and how to use the IRS portals to manage your money.

When do child tax credit payments end in 2021?

Counting September’s batch, the IRS has four more rounds of payments to send to those who qualify for the child tax credit this year. The IRS has sent more than $30 billion with the July and August payments, and 80% of those went out as direct deposits; the rest went as checks in the mail.

Here are the dates to keep track of for the September through December payments and then the one in 2022.

Sept. 15Oct. 15Dec. 15 (last payment of 2021)Tax season 2022 (remainder of money due)

When do child tax credit payments start again?

After you receive whatever payments the IRS sends you this year, the remainder of your money will come with your tax refund in 2022, after you file your tax return next tax season. While the IRS did extend the 2020 and 2021 tax seasons due to the pandemic, you typically have from the end of January to April 15 to file.

How will the final child tax credit payment work?

To help you file your taxes next year and either claim whatever amount the IRS still owes you or — much less likely — repay money you received but didn’t qualify for, the IRS will send you a letter in January 2022 with the total amount of child tax credit money you received in 2021. You’ll use information from this letter — which the IRS is calling “Letter 6419” — when you file your tax return.

What are the remaining deadlines to opt out of child tax credit payments?

If for whatever reason you decide to unenroll from the monthly payments this year, you still have time to have the remainder of your child tax credit money show up next tax season. You may decide to unenroll, for example, if you think you may need to pay back money when you file your taxes in 2022.

Note that the IRS opt-out deadlines are about two weeks ahead of the payment dates. If you miss one deadline for a round of checks, your changes will take effect with the next round. And these are the same deadlines to need to hit for making other changes to your account, such as adding your banking information.

The IRS said if you unenroll and then change your mind, you’ll be able to opt back in in late September. Here are the remaining dates you need to hit to unenroll.

Aug. 30 (for September payment)Oct. 4 (for October payment)Nov. 1 (for November payment)Nov. 29 (for December payment)

For more, here’s how to manage your child tax credit payments and how the money would affect your taxes next year. Here’s also what we know about what the spending bills making their way through Congress could mean for you.