Advance Child Tax Credit

We will need to know if you or members of your household received any advance child tax credit for 2021.  Monthly payments started arriving in July 2021, either by direct deposit, paper check, or debit card.  

According to AARP:

The program has been expanded to cover 17-year-olds in 2021. Eligible families claiming the credit will receive $3,000 per qualifying child ages 6 through 17 and $3,600 per qualifying child under age 6. Previously, the amount of the credit was up to $2,000 per child age 16 and under. Age is determined as of Jan. 1, so children turning 18 on Jan. 2 or later are still eligible for the $3,000 credit, and children turning 6 on Jan. 2 or later qualify for the $3,600 credit.

Bring your IRS Letter 6419, if you received one. 

Excerpt from IRS COVID Tax Tip 2022-03:

People receiving these letters should keep them. Do not throw them away. These letters can help taxpayers, or their tax professional prepare their 2021 federal tax return.

Advance child tax credit payments letter can help people get remainder of 2021 credit

To help taxpayers reconcile and receive all the 2021 child tax credits to which they are entitled, the IRS started sending Letter 6419, 2021 advance CTC, in late December 2021 and will continue into January. This letter includes the total amount of advance child tax credit payments taxpayers received in 2021 and the number of qualifying children used to calculate the advance payments. People should keep this and any other IRS letters about advance child tax credit payments with their tax records.

Families who received advance payments need to file a 2021 tax return and compare the advance payments they received in 2021 with the amount of the child tax credit they can properly claim on their 2021 tax return.

The letter contains important information that can make preparing their tax returns easier. People who received the advance payments can also check the amount of their payments by using the CTC Update Portal available on IRS.gov.

Eligible families who did not receive any advance child tax credit payments can claim the full amount of the child tax credit on their 2021 federal tax return. This includes families who don't normally need to file a tax return.