IRS Statement - Child Tax Credit Letters | Internal Revenue Service
January 27, 2022
The IRS is concerned that the letters they sent out on Child Tax Credit amounts (Letter 6419) could possibly be wrong, but they believe this is a limited group of taxpayers involved out of a much larger set of advance Child Tax Credit recipients. There is no indication to support speculation that this could involve hundreds of thousands of taxpayers. Those in this small affected group could include people who moved or changed bank accounts in December, and their checks were returned as undeliverable or their direct deposits were rejected. The IRS is working on this issue, and will provide resources to taxpayers to make sure they have access to the most up-to-date information when filing their returns.
Per the IRS, "We continue to encourage taxpayers and tax professionals to thoroughly check their records before filing their taxes. For any recipient who doesn't receive their letter or is unsure of the amount they received in 2021, there are options to help." In addition to the letters being mailed, the IRS encourages people to check their Online Account on IRS.gov beginning January 31.
For taxpayers who are married filing jointly, as indicated in the letters, they are being sent to individual taxpayers. Therefore, married taxpayers will each receive a letter, and they will need to combine the information from the letters when they file their joint return.
The IRS is also putting in place procedures to assist with handling processing of tax returns where there is a question about the Child Tax Credit payments; this process will help keep refunds moving.
The IRS reminds taxpayers to carefully check their records. People who file an accurate tax return electronically with direct deposit will generally see their refunds within 21 days after the filing is accepted by the IRS.
Advanced Child Tax Credit (CTC) Processing Tips:
- If the aggregate amount of payments received in 2021 do not match IRS Letter(s) 6419, the IRS may delay processing of the return.
If taxpayers filed a married filing separate return in 2020, both spouses will receive an IRS Letter 6419 advising each spouse of the amount of Advanced Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments issued to them throughout 2021. If filing as married filing jointly for 2021, the spouses will need to combine the totals when they file to reflect the total amount for their family. Using accurate information will be critical when they file their 2021 return to avoid a processing delay.
