Child credit

[Alfnunez73]

We did less than 79,000 jointly and the other half of the child credit was not returned to me

[xmasbaby0]

Look on line 28 of your Form 1040.   Is there an amount there?  If you claimed your children as dependents, and  if you entered the amount of the advance child tax credit payments you received between July and December, then the other half of the child tax credit goes on line 28, and calculates down to your total refund, as shown on line 35a.   It is part of your refund. It is not sent as a separate check.

[Alfnunez73]

I have $3,000 on line 28 and $488 on line 35a and I don't understand, they deducted 3,000 from what they advanced me but they had to give me 3,000, which is the other half

[NCperson]

@Alfnunez73 - let's try and figure this out

1) look at Form 8812, Line 14f - that is the amount your told TT that you received for the Advance

2) please review your bank account statements from July - Dec, 2021 - DO NOT DO FROM MEMORY.  How much was deposited? 

if these two numbers are not the same, then that is the problem

Line 28 should be $3600 for each child under 6 plus $3000 for each child 6-17 years old LESS what you already received for the Advance. 

Please post the following and I think I can straighten this out for you

1) what is on Line 14f Form 8812?

2) how much did the IRS deposit into your bank account from July - Dec, 2021. Again, please review the statements and do not do from memory

3) how old are your children as of 12/31/21? 

4) please confirm you are saying that the IRS adjusted you tax return by $3,000 (I think that is what you are stating but not sure)

[NCperson]

@Alfnunez73 - and maybe this is just a misunderstanding of how this works.   Line 28 IS THE OTHER HALF of the child tax credit.  Do you haev two children ages 6-17? 

Had that line not been credited to your tax return, you would have owed $2,512

[Alfnunez73]

I have two kids that qualify for the credit. $3000 I received in 2021 in advance. I should have received the other $3000 when I filed my taxes in 2022. However, I did not receive the other half.

They removed the $3000 that I received from my tax return.

[Alfnunez73]

I only had a refund of $488

[VolvoGirl]

You had 488 refund online 35a.   That includes credit for the other half 3,000 on line 28.   You got it.  It reduced your total tax by $3,000 so you only get 488 now.  The 3,000 doesn't come separately it reduced your tax due.  It was already accounted for.   If you didn't get credit for the $3,000 then you would have had a $2,512 tax due (488-3,000).  Follow the math from line 24 - 35.

I found this in a news article, it explains it pretty well........

While the CTC expansion was structured to not increase taxes on any household, a dollar of credit received in advance results in a dollar less received at filing time. For families unaware of the trade-off, it could mean a surprise when they see their refund total this year.

Consider a married couple with a 10-year-old child who normally received their $2,000 CTC when they filed their taxes. They would have received $1,500 of their $3,000 in advance. As such, they could potentially see their refund shrink by $500 even though their total benefit increased to $3,000 because they are left with $1,500 instead of their normal $2,000 at tax time.