On Your Side: Look for IRS Letter Regarding Child Tax Credit Before Filing Your Taxes
The IRS is urging families to look for a letter regarding last year’s child tax credit before filing their 2021 tax return.
Families who received advance child tax credit payments last year should receive what’s called “letter 6419” in the mail. That letter shows how much child tax credit money a family has already received, which you need to know as you prepare your tax return.
Local tax expert Latanja Johnson of Professional Tax & Bookkeeping, Inc., tells Alabama News Network that the money was simply a cash advance of the projected refund amount a family would get.
Johnson says if your family situation has changed, then you might end up having to pay back some or all of that money instead of getting the refund you might be expecting.
“The child tax credit payments are based on your filing for the 2021 tax year, which you file this year, but the child tax credit payments were given last year,” she said.
The IRS began accepting tax returns on Monday, January 24. It says it may take longer to get your refund this year due to a backlog of returns and a worker shortage.
