Claiming the Advance Child Tax Credit

In late January 2022, the IRS will send Letter 6419, Reconciliation Statement, to provide the total amount of advance child tax credit (CTC) payments to those taxpayers who received at least one payment during 2021. Letter 6419 will provide a summary of the advanced payments, how the amount was calculated and the conditions for repayment. Tax professionals may need to refer to this notice to claim the remaining CTC amount. The letter will be mailed to the taxpayer’s last known mailing address the IRS has on file as of the letter’s last mailing date.

Taxpayers can also obtain their payment amount via the online portal with an ID.me account to verify the details from the letter.

There are additional circumstances that could have affected the taxpayer’s CTC refund, including shared custody agreements and both parents opting out of the advance payments.

Provisions in the Build Back Better (BBB) Act would extend the expansion of the CTC and the advance payments through the end of 2022. However, with the Senate deadlock, it is unlikely that CTC payments will go out in January unless there is a Christmas miracle.

2021 Child Tax Credit and Advance Child Tax Credit Payments — Topic H: Reconciling Your Advance Child Tax Credit Payments on Your 2021 Tax Return | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)