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when will child tax credit refunds be issued 20... ~~

For Child Tax Credit–related refunds, the key thing is that the timing is tied to your overall tax refund, not a separate “child tax credit refund” payout on its own.

Core timeline

  • If your return includes the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) or the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) , federal law (the PATH Act) requires the IRS to hold your entire refund until at least mid‑February each filing season.
  • The IRS indicates most refunds (for people e‑filing with direct deposit and no issues on the return) are issued within about 21 days after they accept the return, but ACTC/EITC returns are the big exception because of the mid‑February hold.
  • For EITC/ACTC filers who send returns early, the IRS has said that most will see their refunds by early March if there are no problems, with refund status in the “Where’s My Refund?” tool usually updated by late February.

What this means in practice

If your question “when will child tax credit refunds be issued 20…” is about a specific filing season (like 2025 or 2026):

  • You generally won’t see money before mid‑February , even if you file on the first day and your refund is largely from ACTC or EITC.
  • After mid‑February, once the IRS releases the hold and finishes processing, most on‑time, error‑free returns with direct deposit get their refund within a couple of weeks (often late February to early March).
  • Regular Child Tax Credit amounts and the refundable portion (the ACTC) are set each year, and for 2026 the maximum refundable part is about 1,700 dollars per child , which is what can flow through as part of your refund if your tax liability is low.

How to get your specific date

  • Use the IRS “Where’s My Refund?” tracker, which updates once per day and gives a personalized expected deposit date once your return is processed and the statutory hold has passed.
  • Make sure you’ve e‑filed, chosen direct deposit, and double‑checked your Social Security numbers and income entries, because errors can push your refund well past the usual late‑February / early‑March window.

In short, for any year in the “20xx” range, if your refund depends heavily on the Child Tax Credit/Additional Child Tax Credit, plan around mid‑February at the earliest and early March as common , assuming your return is accurate and accepted without extra review.