Great question about dependents on returns for alternating years! You claimed your step son on your 2020 tax return, and would have received the 2020 Child Tax Credit , Form 1040 line 19 and any additional child tax credit on line 28.
Advance Child Tax Credit payments are early payments from the IRS of 50 percent of the estimated amount of the Child Tax Credit that you may properly claim on your 2021 tax return during the 2022 tax filing season. Since you will not have the Child Tax Credit for your step son on your 2021 tax return you would not want to receive the advance payments as you may have to pay the advance back to the IRS when you reconcile the advance payments received to your Child Tax Credit on your 2021 tax return.
Stimulus payments not received are reconciled on your tax return. The first stimulus payment, issued Spring of 2020, and the second stimulus payment, issued Dec 2020 - Jan 2021, if NOT received would have been reported as a Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 tax return, Form 1040 line 30.
The third stimulus payment if NOT received will be reconciled on the 2021 tax return.
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