Tax Year 2021/Filing Season 2022 Child Tax Credit Frequently Asked Questions — Topic C: Reconciling Advance Child Tax Credit Payments and Claiming the 2021 Child Tax Credit on Your 2021 Tax Return

A1. Reconciling your advance Child Tax Credit payments means comparing:

1. The total amount of the advance Child Tax Credit payments that you received during 2021 (even if that amount is $0) with
2. The amount of the Child Tax Credit that you can properly claim on your 2021 tax return.

After this comparison (which is called "reconciling"), you'll have one of the following three results:

• Remaining Child Tax Credit Amount: If your advance Child Tax Credit payments were less than the amount of Child Tax Credit you can properly claim on your 2021 tax return, you can claim the remaining amount of your Child Tax Credit on your 2021 tax return.
• Excess Advance Child Tax Credit Payment Amount: If your advance Child Tax Credit payments exceeded the amount of Child Tax Credit you can properly claim on your 2021 tax return, you may need to repay to the IRS some or all of that excess payment. For more information, see Q C12, Q C13, Q C14, Q C15, and Q C16.
• No Excess Advance Child Tax Credit Payment Amount or Remaining Child Tax Credit Amount: If the amount of Child Tax Credit that you can properly claim on your 2021 return is the same as the total amount of your advance Child Tax Credit payments you received in 2021, then you have received all of the 2021 Child Tax Credit for which you are eligible. As a result:
  • There is no remaining amount of Child Tax Credit that you can properly claim on your 2021 tax return; and
  • There is no amount of advance Child Tax Credit that you need to repay to the IRS.

Electronic filing options can help you do this comparison accurately and quickly. For additional information, see the instructions for Schedule 8812: Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents.

For information on how you can find the total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments that you received during 2021, see Q C3 and Q C4.

A2. Reconcile your advance Child Tax Credit payments because you:

• Received one or more advance Child Tax Credit payments during 2021 and can properly claim the 2021 Child Tax Credit;
• Received one or more advance Child Tax Credit payments during 2021, but are not eligible to claim the 2021 Child Tax Credit; or
• Didn't receive any advance Child Tax Credit payments during 2021, but can properly claim the 2021 Child Tax Credit.

A3. Yes. In January 2022, the IRS will send you Letter 6419 to provide the total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments that were disbursed to you during 2021. Please keep this letter with your tax records. You may need to refer to this letter when you file your 2021 tax return to help you reconcile:

• The total amount of the advance Child Tax Credit payments that you received during 2021 with
• The amount of the Child Tax Credit that you can properly claim on your 2021 tax return.

If your advance Child Tax Credit payments were based upon a married filing joint tax return, you and your spouse from that return will each receive your own Letter 6419.

Letter 6419 says "2021 Total Advance Child Tax Credit (AdvCTC) Payments" near the top and "Letter 6419" on the bottom righthand side of the page – here is a picture of  Letter 6419PDF .

For more information about your Letter 6419, visit Understanding Your Letter 6419.

A4. Yes. You can also get information on the total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments that were disbursed to you during 2021 from the following sources:

• The IRS's Child Tax Credit Update Portal (CTC UP); and
• Your IRS Online Account.

If you are a new user, you must create an ID.me account at IRS.gov and verify your identity. ID.me is a trusted credential service provider selected to support IRS.gov login services. The IRS needs to make sure you're you – and not someone pretending to be you – before we give you access to your sensitive account information. The verification of your identity helps to keep your information safe and prevent fraud and identity theft. Learn more about ID.me and the IRS verification process at Sign In or Create a New Account.

• If you have an existing account with the IRS, use your Secure Access username and password and enter the security code as part of the multi-factor authentication (MFA) process. If you have an existing account with ID.me from a state government or federal agency, you may use your email and password and complete the MFA.
• Both spouses need to complete this identity authentication process to find the total amount of their 2021 advance Child Tax Credit payments if filing a joint return.

A5. No. You must determine the amount of the Child Tax Credit for which you are eligible (if any).

To determine that amount, you must use Schedule 8812, Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents. When the IRS processes your 2021 tax return on which you claim the Child Tax Credit, the Schedule 8812 helps the IRS determine your eligibility and amount of your credit. This is based on your 2021 tax return information and the total amount of any advance Child Tax Credit payments you received in 2021.

For additional information on how to determine the amount of Child Tax Credit that you can properly claim, please see the instructions for Schedule 8812, Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents.

A6. Yes. If you make a mistake in determining the amount of the Child Tax Credit for which you are eligible, the IRS will automatically fix your amount. However, this correction will increase the time it takes to process your return and may delay the completion of that processing.

Here's a summary of how this will work, and the steps that you will need to take:

• If there's a mistake with the Child Tax Credit amount on Line 28 of the Form 1040, Form 1040-SR, or Form 1040-NR, the IRS will calculate the correct amount, make the correction, and continue processing the return.
• The IRS will send you a notice explaining any change to the amount of Child Tax Credit that you claimed.
• If you receive a notice stating that the IRS changed the amount of your 2021 Child Tax Credit, you should follow the instructions in the notice and direct any questions to the phone number on the upper right side of the letter.

Here are some common reasons why the IRS would correct the amount of the Child Tax Credit that you claimed:

• You were claimed as a dependent on another person's 2021 tax return.
• You did not provide a Social Security number valid for employment for any qualifying child whom you claimed.
• Any child whom you claimed for the Child Tax Credit does not meet all of the requirements to be a qualifying child. For information about the requirements for a qualifying child, see Q B2 of Topic B: Eligibility Rules for Claiming the 2021 Child Tax Credit on a 2021 Tax Return.
• You made an addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division error on your return.
• You forgot to attach Schedule 8812 (Form 1040), Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents, to your tax return.

A7. The only way to reconcile your advance Child Tax Credit payments and determine the amount of credit that you can claim is to complete and file a 2021 Federal income tax return. For more information about reconciling your advance Child Tax Credit payments and determining the amount of Child Tax Credit that you can properly claim, see Q C1 and Q C8.

A8. It depends on whether:

1. You are filing your 2021 tax return electronically through the use of tax return preparation software; or
2. You are filing a paper return without using tax preparation software.

If you file electronically using tax return preparation software:

• The software will ask you to provide information about the advance Child Tax Credit payments you received in 2021 (for example, the amount of those payments).
• The software will use that information to reconcile the Child Tax Credit for you based on information you provide about your advance payments, qualifying children, income, and other factors.

If you choose to file a paper return without using tax return preparation software:

• Use Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) for the reconciling process.
• Follow the steps in the Schedule 8812 instructions to figure:
  • The remaining amount of the Child Tax Credit you can properly claim on your 2021 tax return; or
  • Any excess advance Child Tax Credit payment amount.

Important: E-file is the easiest, most accurate way to reconcile and claim the Child Tax Credit and other credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child and Dependent Care Credit, and others.

A9. Yes. If you need help filing your tax return, IRS.gov offers you two options to file your federal income tax return for free:

• IRS Free File Online Tax Preparation: This option lets you prepare and file your federal income tax return online for free using online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner sites.
  • Income Requirement: Your adjusted gross income (or AGI) must be $73,000 or less in 2021 to be eligible to use IRS Free File Online Tax Preparation.
• IRS Free File Fillable Forms: This option provides you with electronic federal tax forms you can fill out and file online for free.
  • No Income Requirement: You can use Free File Fillable Forms, regardless of your income.
  • Warning: If you choose this option, you would need to know how to prepare your own tax return or be able to follow the instructions to the Form 1040.

A10. You have the two following types of options, one of which you can receive for free if you qualify.

• Professional tax return preparers: There are various types of tax return preparers, including certified public accountants, enrolled agents, attorneys, and others who can assist you in filing your return. For more information about these and other return preparers who might be right for you, visit Need someone to prepare your tax return?
• Free tax return preparation for qualifying taxpayers: The IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs offer free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals. To learn more and to find a VITA or TCE site near you, visit IRS Free Tax Return Preparation on IRS.gov.

The fastest way for you to get your tax refund is by filing electronically and choosing direct deposit. For more details, including information about what to do if you don't have a bank account, see the direct deposit information on IRS.gov.

A11. Yes. There generally are two ways that the receipt of advance Child Tax Credit payments could cause you to owe money to the IRS or receive a smaller tax refund than you had expected.

1. Advance Child Tax Credit Payments Exceed 2021 Child Tax Credit: If the total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments that you received during 2021 exceeds the amount of the 2021 Child Tax Credit that you may properly claim on your 2021 tax return, you may need to repay that excess amount – unless you qualify for repayment protection.
2. Advance Child Tax Credit Payments Exceed Increase in 2021 Child Tax Credit: For certain taxpayers, the total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments that they received in 2021 was greater than the amount of increase in their 2021 Child Tax Credit, as compared to the amount of Child Tax Credit they claimed for tax year 2020. Therefore, these taxpayers will be able to claim a smaller amount of Child Tax Credit on their 2021 tax return, as compared to their 2020 tax return – which could reduce the taxpayer's refund or cause the taxpayer to owe money to the IRS.

A12. The amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments that you received during 2021 was based on the IRS's estimate of the Child Tax Credit amount that you would be eligible to properly claim for the 2021 tax year. The law requires this estimate to be based on the following primary sources of information:

• Your 2020 tax year return or, if that return was not yet processed, your 2019 tax year return; and
• Any updated information you provided to the IRS in 2021, including information provided through the Child Tax Credit Update Portal (CTC UP).

Family and life situations can be fluid throughout a given year, which can affect eligibility. The IRS encouraged families to use the CTC UP to report income changes, or to unenroll from 2021 advance payments if the family knew they were not eligible.

A13. Here are some common changes in circumstances that could cause this to occur:

• A qualifying child who resided with you may have changed homes during 2021 and didn't live with you for more than half of the year.
• Your income increased in 2021, causing your Child Tax Credit to be phased out (or reduced), as compared to the Child Tax Credit amount that the IRS estimated based on your earlier income.
• Your filing status changed for 2021, causing your Child Tax Credit to be phased out (or reduced), as compared to the Child Tax Credit amount that the IRS estimated based on your earlier income and filing status.
• Your main home was outside of the United States for half of 2021 or more.

As a result of these types of family and life changes, you may have received a total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments that exceeds the amount of Child Tax Credit that you can properly claim on your 2021 tax return.

For information about how the amount of the Child Tax Credit can be reduced based on your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) or your tax filing status, see Q A7, Q A8, and Q A9 in Topic A: 2021 Child Tax Credit Basics.

A14. Maybe. If the total amount of your advance Child Tax Credit payments is greater than the Child Tax Credit amount that you can properly claim on your 2021 tax return, you may need to report the entire excess amount on your 2021 tax return as additional income tax.

However, if you are eligible for repayment protection, you will not be required to repay some or all of your excess advance Child Tax Credit payments.

A15. The amount of your tax liability from excess advance Child Tax Credit payments is reduced by up to the full repayment protection amount. The full repayment protection amount equals $2,000, multiplied by the following:

• The number of qualifying children that the IRS took into account in determining the IRS's initial estimate of your advance Child Tax Credit payments, minus
• The number of qualifying children taken into account in determining the amount of Child Tax Credit that you can properly claim on your 2021 tax return.

The full repayment protection amount is $2,000 per child used to calculate your advance payments but not claimed on your tax return. The amount of the repayment protection will be reduced or phased out based on your modified AGI.

A16. Yes. Repayment protection amounts are based on your modified adjusted gross income (AGI). If your main home was in the United States for more than half of 2021, this chart can help you determine if you qualify for full, some, or no repayment protection.

The following table shows the amount of repayment protection for which a taxpayer is eligible, based on the taxpayer's modified AGI.

* Your repayment protection is based on how much your modified AGI is greater than the amount shown in the "full repayment protection" column for your filing status.

Example: You filed a joint return with your spouse for tax year 2020 and claimed the Child Tax Credit for three qualifying children. The IRS estimated your total advance Child Tax Credit payment amount based on these qualifying children. However, when you file your 2021 joint tax return with a modified AGI of $75,000, you properly claim the Child Tax Credit for only one qualifying child – and therefore have two excess qualifying children. Your modified AGI of $75,000 exceeds your applicable $60,000 modified AGI threshold by 25 percent. Your potential full repayment protection amount of $4,000 (that is, $2,000 for each excess qualifying child) is reduced by 25 percent to $3,000.

For more information on modified AGI, see Q A6 of Topic A: 2021 Child Tax Credit Basics.

A17. The majority of individuals who need to repay excess advance Child Tax Credit payments will satisfy that balance through a reduction in their expected federal income tax refund.

However, if you owe a balance in excess of your refund, the IRS routinely works with taxpayers who owe amounts they cannot afford to pay. The process to make a payment arrangement for these balances due is the same as for other tax balances. It is important that you file your tax return even if you cannot pay the amount due to prevent the accrual of additional penalties. For further information on how to pay your past due federal income tax liability, see Paying Your Taxes.