Will my refund be delayed in 2025 if I claim the child tax credit? Any expected date for processing?

So I'm filing my taxes early this year and claiming my two kids (ages 4 and 6) for the child tax credit. I heard from a friend that if you claim the child tax credit, your tax refund will automatically be delayed this year. Is this actually true? I was counting on getting that money back pretty quickly to cover some bills. I've already got all my W-2s and other tax forms ready to go, and was planning to file next week when the IRS opens up for the season. But now I'm worried about a long delay. Has anyone dealt with this before? Any idea when refunds with child tax credits actually get processed? Like is there a specific date the IRS starts releasing those refunds or is it just a general slowdown?

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19 comments

Zoe Papadopoulos

•8M

Yes, refunds that include the Child Tax Credit (CTC) are subject to additional processing time. This is because of the PATH Act (Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes), which requires the IRS to hold refunds for returns claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) until mid-February. For the 2025 filing season (2024 tax year), the IRS typically starts releasing these refunds around February 15th, though it can take additional time for your bank to process the deposit after the IRS releases it. So even if you file on the first day possible, you won't get your refund until at least mid-February. The delay is a fraud prevention measure to give the IRS time to verify claims for these credits before issuing refunds. The regular Child Tax Credit isn't specifically mentioned in the PATH Act, but many returns claiming it also claim the ACTC, which would trigger the hold.

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Zoe Papadopoulos

•8M

The mandatory hold specifically applies to the Additional Child Tax Credit (the refundable portion). If you're only claiming the regular non-refundable Child Tax Credit and not the refundable portion, your refund technically wouldn't be subject to the mid-February hold under the PATH Act. However, in practice, the IRS systems often flag and hold returns with any child-related credits for additional verification, especially early in the filing season. So while there's no official hold date for the regular CTC, you might still experience some delay compared to returns without any credits.

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Fatima Al-Rashid

•8M

I went through this exact situation last year and was pulling my hair out waiting for my refund. Then I found a tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that really helped me understand what was going on with my return. You upload your return documents and it explains everything - including giving you a better estimate of when your refund will come based on your specific situation. The PATH Act delay is real, but taxr.ai showed me that my return was actually delayed for a different reason (had nothing to do with my kids' credit). It was actually because I had some 1099 income that triggered extra review. Once I knew what was happening, it was way less stressful, and their timeline prediction was accurate within 2 days.

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Fatima Al-Rashid

•8M

It definitely gave me a more specific timeline than the IRS tool. The Where's My Refund tool just shows those three generic stages, but taxr.ai actually analyzed my specific situation and tax credits to give me a more precise window based on current IRS processing patterns. The site isn't guessing - they use data analytics from thousands of tax returns to identify patterns in processing times based on factors like which credits you're claiming, your filing method, and other elements in your return. They correctly identified why my return was flagged for additional review when the IRS never explained that to me.

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Giovanni Rossi

•8M

Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try taxr.ai after waiting anxiously for my refund, and it was actually super helpful! Uploaded my draft return and it immediately explained that my refund would likely be held until Feb 18th because of the Additional Child Tax Credit, plus gave me an estimated date range for when to expect the money. The tool also flagged that I made a mistake on my childcare expenses that might have triggered an audit review (thankfully before I filed!). I fixed the issue and now have a clear understanding of the timeline. Just got my deposit yesterday, exactly in the window they predicted. Saved me a ton of stress and probably a delayed refund!

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KylieRose

•8M

If you need to contact the IRS about your refund, good luck getting through on the phone! I spent HOURS trying last year when my child tax credit refund was delayed way past the February date. Finally discovered a service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes. I was beyond skeptical, but their system actually works - you can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed my refund had been flagged for verification but was cleared and being processed. Got my refund the following week. Would have been stuck in limbo for who knows how long otherwise.

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KylieRose

•8M

They use a technology that navigates the IRS phone system and holds your place in line. You only get a call once they've reached an actual human agent at the IRS. It's not a back door or special access - they're just using technology to handle the frustrating wait times. It's completely legit - once connected, you're talking directly to official IRS agents who can access your tax records and help resolve issues. No different than if you'd waited on hold yourself for hours, except you don't waste your day listening to the hold music.

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Sasha Ivanov

•8M

I'm actually shocked but I need to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I was still desperate to reach the IRS about my delayed refund with child tax credits, so I tried it anyway. The service had me connected with an actual IRS representative in about 15 minutes. The agent confirmed my refund was delayed because they were verifying my children's eligibility for the credit, and she put a note on my account to expedite the review. My refund was deposited three days later! After spending literally hours trying to get through myself, this was worth every penny. Sometimes being wrong feels pretty good.

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Liam Murphy

•8M

They typically don't notify you immediately about the SSN mismatch. What usually happens is your return gets flagged for manual review, and your refund gets put on hold without any specific explanation. Sometimes you'll eventually get a letter in the mail explaining the issue, but that might come weeks after you file. The Where's My Refund tool will just show "still processing" with no details about why. That's why it's so important to triple-check those numbers before filing.

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