TurboTax

File with experts
File your taxes
Experts at your fingertips

An expert helps with your taxes, or does them for you
TurboTax Expert Full Service

TurboTax Expert Assist

TurboTax Self-Employed
Prior year taxes
File myself
File myself
Do it yourself

We'll guide you step-by-step
TurboTax Do It Yourself

TurboTax Self-Employed

TurboTax Desktop
TurboTax Free

Activate your product

Prior year taxes
Business
Business
Business taxes

Get your T2 corporate return done right, your way
TurboTax Business

TurboTax Business Desktop
Tax situations
Tax situations
Tax situations

Find extra guidance for your big life moves
For investors

For 25 and younger

For self-employed

For new to Canada

For life changes
Resources
Resources
Resources

Explore tax tools, get tips, and read reviews
Personal income tax calculator

RRSP savings calculator

Learning hub

TurboTax support (FAQ)

TurboTax community
Pricing

Level 2

Question

Having Problems with Child Tax Credit

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
January 21, 2022
114 replies
294 views

So I am trying to file my 2021 return as a head of household with 1 dependent and I received $1500 for CTC in 2021 and it also says that on my letter 6419. To my understanding, I am supposed to also receive the remaining $1500 and continue getting them for 2022 but when I enter how much I got in 2021 which is 1500, it just deducts 1500 from my tax return, I am really confused as I thought I should be receiving an additional 1500 on top, not having the money I received taken back from me. Just wanted to ask If there is something wrong or am I just not getting something. And additionally, I have checked all the requirements for receiving CTC and they all still apply to me.

Show previous replies

Mfletes01

Level 2

I am having the same problem with turbo tax and the child tax credit. The letter I received says I got the $1500 for my one dependent and does not give me the other $1500 I am eligible for. I do not think I will be filing with turbo tax anymore.

DoninGA

Level 15

@Mfletes01 wrote:

I am having the same problem with turbo tax and the child tax credit. The letter I received says I got the $1500 for my one dependent and does not give me the other $1500 I am eligible for. I do not think I will be filing with turbo tax anymore.

The other $1,500 is on your federal tax return, Form 1040 Line 28. That amount is included in your federal tax refund or it has reduced the amount of federal taxes owed. It will be entered on the Form 1040 Line 28 regardless of which tax preparation software you use.

Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the online program screen. Click on Tools. Click on View Tax Summary. Click on Preview my 1040 on the left side of the screen.

allibaba6

Level 2

I have no idea if I'm replying on the correct thread but here's my issue.

When comparing last year and this year it's telling me last year I owed $526 in Federal taxes and this year $5695! The only thing that changed is our income dropped $5000. Why is this? Is this why my $4500 isn't being refunded?

NettyO8

Level 2

I’m having the same exact issue and don’t know if I should file or not. These other people don’t understand and think we don’t know that we already received half of the child credit but we should be getting the other half and it’s not showing up. Very frustrating

xmasbaby0

Level 15

@NettyO8 Please look on line 28 of your tax return and then follow the math down to your refund. The "second half" of your CTC is on line 28. We know it is confusing but that is how it works. If you have an amount on line 28 you ARE getting the rest of the CTC.

PREVIEW 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901539-how-do-i-preview-my-turbotax-online-return-before-filing

Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the screen. Click on Tools. Click on View Tax Summary. Click on Preview my 1040 on the left side of the screen.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

morangegurl

Level 2

Okay, so here's the conclusion that I've come to is: we were ~~misinformed~~ lied to about how the prepayments were going to work and that they weren't going to look or work the same way on our taxes as in previous years. Honestly, everyone should have opted out of the advanced payments and if I had realized how it was going to impact our taxes I would have.

This article was published in July of 2021 and if I had read it then I would have opted out of the prepayments right away:
https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/603223/will-monthly-child-tax-credit-payments-lower-your-tax-refund-or-raise-your-tax-bill

So in previous years the Child Tax Credit was a nonrefundable credit. This year since it was a fully refundable credit, and most of us got half of it up front, the half we got up front doesn't affect our taxes (they can't refund what we've already been paid), we were given the cash and that's it. So this year none of my tax liability was reduced, and only the second half of the money which I am owed is showing up (as it should) as a refundable tax credit on line 28 & 32 it is then added to the taxes I paid through my employer throughout the year and other tax credits I qualify for and all together they don't cover my tax liability. This has never happened to me before because the taxes I paid and the CTC usually reduce it enough that with my deductions I typically get a refund.

Turbo Tax isn't wrong.

WE WERE LIED TO AND I'M PISSED ABOUT IT AND YOU SHOULD BE TOO!

Also to all the people asking if we entered our information correctly, the answer is YES, but the results are not what we are expecting, that's why we're here commenting on this thread.

Srtech

Level 2

Same issue. I have same tax like last year. Remember there is no change in tax liability. Just child credit is changing this year. I received 4k last year for 2 kids. So this year I expect other half of 6k to show in 1040 total refund. But TurboTax or generated preview form doesn't show other half. Added 2 dependants correctly and mentioned that i received half of advance child credit payments. So seriously some issue. Not sure do I need to wait or irs will calculate correctly and send other half of credit. Any advice?

RaifH

Level 10

There are a couple of possibilities why you are not getting the Child Tax Credit that you expect. One possibility is that your combined income is too high to receive the full Child Tax Credit. The thresholds are as follows:

$150,000 if married and filing a joint return or if filing as a qualifying widow or widower;
$112,500 if filing as head of household; or
$75,000 if you are a single filer or are married and filing a separate return.

The first phaseout reduces the Child Tax Credit by $50 for each $1,000 (or fraction thereof) by which your modified AGI exceeds the income threshold described above that applies to you.

Another possibility may be that one of your children is not entered into the system correctly, and is therefore not triggering the Child Tax Credit. For each child in the Add a Dependent screens:

Ensure that every child is marked for having lived with you for 6 months or more and that all that time was in the U.S.
Mark No to Did your child pay for more than half of their living expenses and other support?
When you enter your child's Social Security number, ensure that the box marked "Not valid for employment" is printed on your child's Social Security card is not checked.

Finally, you may want to check that the amount you received from July through December as advanced payments is entered correctly and matches what the IRS reported to you on Letter 6419.

In your TurboTax return search for Child Tax Credit and Continue.
Answer the question on the Let's start with where you spent the most time in 2021 screen and Continue.
On the Tell us about any advance Child Tax Credit payments screen, answer Yes, enter the amount from your letter in the Tell us about any advance Child Tax Credit payments box, and Continue.
1. If your spouse also received payments, be sure to enter that amount as well as a combined total for both of you.
Answer the questions on the following screens, confirm your amount on the Let's recheck your advance Child Tax Credit payments screen, and Continue.

At this point, if you are eligible, you should be receiving the other $3,000 on your tax return. To verify this:

Select Tax Tools in the left menu (if you don't see this, select the menu icon in the upper-left corner).
With the Tax Tools menu open, you can then view your 1040 form: Select Tools. Next, select View Tax Summary in the pop-up, then Preview my 1040 in the left menu
Scroll down until you see Form 1040 Line 28 Refundable child tax credit. It should be $3,000.

@Srtec

xmasbaby0

Level 15

@Srtech Sometimes users are simply confused about where to look for the "second half" of the child tax credit. Look on line 28 of your Form 1040. That is where it will be, then it is added to your refund. Your refund will be on line 35a.

PREVIEW 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901539-how-do-i-preview-my-turbotax-online-return-before-filing

Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the screen. Click on Tools. Click on View Tax Summary. Click on Preview my 1040 on the left side of the screen.

angcbarnes

Level 2

Did you complete your taxes or try somewhere else?? I'm not understanding what is going on either... I have a 15 & 16 yr old sons that I have claimed since birth, from my understanding I should receive 6000 CTC.. ? I recieved the advance of 3000, so shouldn't I get the other half , 3000??? Am I wrong? Anyone ever find a answer with this??!!

krestep

Level 2

I did my taxes on 1040.com and got a refund rather than having to pay. Nobody on here seems to understand, or wants to admit, that TT has their formula wrong.

Torihubbard39

Level 2

My final refund was $8,607. Is that after they took the $3,000 CTC that I already received or will my refund be different?

DoninGA

Level 15

@Torihubbard39 wrote:

My final refund was $8,607. Is that after they took the $3,000 CTC that I already received or will my refund be different?

The advance child tax credits you received in 2021 and reported as receiving on the 2021 tax return are not included in the federal tax refund. Unless you did NOT report receiving the advance payments on the 2021 return, your refund will change and be delayed since the IRS will have to adjust your tax return.

babyt2012

Level 2

I completed my taxes and received my refund yesterday but not the rest of my child tax credit. The amount that was supposed to be refunded is on line 28. So what should I do now? I would have thought it would have been deposited altogether but since the turbotax bar say the specific amount of my refund from me working and not the rest of the child tax included with it I didn't get it.

DoninGA

Level 15

@babyt2012 wrote:

I completed my taxes and received my refund yesterday but not the rest of my child tax credit. The amount that was supposed to be refunded is on line 28. So what should I do now? I would have thought it would have been deposited altogether but since the turbotax bar say the specific amount of my refund from me working and not the rest of the child tax included with it I didn't get it.

The Child Tax Credit is entered on your federal tax return Form 1040 on Line 28. It is added to your other tax payments, it is not a separate refund. Your Total taxes from Line 24 are subtracted from your Total tax payments on Line 33. If you have an overpayment then that is entered on Line 34 as your federal tax refund.

Anonymous

Yes I had the exact same problem. I put all of my information in except the info from letter 6419 because I hadn't received it yet. My refund was showing it would be over $4000. I knew I would lose the $1500 from my 1 dependent I had received payments for. But instead my refund dropped all the way down to $600 just by adding the $1500 advanced payments. I am still owed the remaining $1500 from the CTC!! I was not happy with this at all but with it being the last week to file I sent it in anyway.

DoninGA

Level 15

@dprz78 You have two dependent children ages 6 thru 17? If so, then you should have received $3,000 in advance child tax credits in 2021 as shown on the Letters 6419 you received. You were supposed to enter the Total advance child tax credits received for both you and your spouse.

That is why the IRS removed $1,500 of the Child Tax Credit from your Form 1040 on Line 28 since their records show that you were sent $3,000 not $1,500.

Go to this IRS website for your tax account to see if the advance child tax credit is entered - https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account
If you are Married Filing Jointly also check your spouse's tax account.