Missing Child Tax Credit Payment Shows as Issued on Transcript - Never Received It

This is definitely a situation that can be resolved, but it will take some systematic steps. Here's what you should do: 1. First, double check all bank accounts you had in April 2023, including any accounts you might have closed since then. The payment could have been direct deposited. 2. If you filed with a tax preparer, check if they had a refund transfer product where the money might have gone to them first. 3. If you used a prepaid card for previous tax refunds, check that account - the IRS often sends payments to the last method used. 4. If you still can't locate it, you'll need to initiate a payment trace with the IRS. You can do this by calling the Economic Impact Payment hotline at 800-919-9835 or submit Form 3911 (Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund). 5. When submitting the trace, include your transcript showing the payment was issued as evidence. The IRS typically takes 6-8 weeks to investigate a missing payment once you submit the trace.

I went through almost the identical situation last tax season! My transcript showed a $1,700 payment that I never got. I spent weeks trying to figure it out myself, checking old accounts, calling the general IRS number with no luck. Finally tried https://taxr.ai to analyze my transcript. It immediately identified the payment trace codes and explained exactly what they meant - turns out my payment had been issued but then reversed due to an incorrect account number. The analysis showed me exactly which form to file and what to reference. Saved me so much time compared to my previous experience of getting conflicting info from different IRS agents.

I had a similar situation with my Advanced Child Tax Credit payment showing as disbursed on my Account Transcript (Code 846) but never received in any of my accounts. The IRS actually has a specific term for this - an "undelivered payment." In my case, after investigation, they determined the payment was returned to them due to an incorrect routing number. Check your transcript carefully for any TC 841 codes (Refund Cancelled) following the TC 846 (Refund Issued) - that would indicate the payment was returned to the IRS. I'm a bit worried about how long this might take to resolve given the current backlog at the IRS.

After dealing with a similar missing payment issue, I spent 3+ weeks trying to reach someone at the IRS without success. The regular phone lines are completely overwhelmed right now according to the IRS website. I finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to connect with an actual IRS agent. They have a service that navigates the phone tree and waits on hold for you, then calls you when an agent is on the line. The agent was able to see that my payment had been issued to a closed account and initiated a trace immediately. Worth the fee to avoid spending hours on hold only to be disconnected.

Tbh I wouldn't bother with the regular IRS channels rn. When this happened to me (CTC payment showed on transcript but never got it), I went straight to my local Taxpayer Advocate Service office instead of dealing with the main IRS. Filled out Form 911 (Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance) and explained the hardship. TAS has special channels to research these issues and they resolved mine in like 3 weeks vs the 3+ months my friend waited going through regular IRS channels. Totally diff experience!

Has anyone checked if the payment might have been offset to pay a federal or state debt? Sometimes these payments can be intercepted for things like back taxes, student loans, or child support arrears. The transcript would still show it as "issued" even though it was applied to another debt. Worth looking into the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) as a possibility here. Have you received any notices about offsets or do you have any outstanding federal/state debts that could have claimed this payment?

I should perhaps mention that there's a specific timeframe for requesting a payment trace, which might be relevant to your situation. For direct deposits, you need to wait at least 5 days from the scheduled deposit date before initiating a trace. For mailed checks, you should wait 4 weeks. However, since this payment was from 2023, you're well beyond those waiting periods. One other detail worth noting is that the IRS may have issued your payment as a debit card rather than a check or direct deposit for some of these credits. These cards came in plain envelopes that many people unfortunately discarded thinking they were junk mail. If that's what happened, you can still request a replacement card if you can verify your identity with the issuing bank.