topic Dependent received 2021 refund check in mail for Earned Income Credit? in Deductions & credits

Dependent received 2021 refund check in mail for Earned Income Credit?

slamantia1971 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 12:04:23 GMT

My 19 year old daughter recevied a check out of nowhere from the IRS for $1,209 stating "we made the changes you requested to your 2021 Form 1040 to adjust your earned income credit". I filed my taxes for my daughter using TT online. I confirmed that the return stated that she is a dependent on someone else's return (mine) and did not claim the EIC. I never requested any changes. Am I missing something? Will this get adjusted somehow when she does her 2022 taxes?

Re: Dependent received 2021 refund check in mail for Earned Income Credit?

KrisD15 — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 13:19:40 GMT

I would not just ignore this.

I would not cash the check and I would get in contact with the IRS to clear this up.

Respond to the IRS letter and search for a tax advocate in your area.

This does not necessarily sound like a scam, but it does not sound right.

A dependent is not eligible for an Earned Income Tax Credit.

Talk with your daughter to see if she somehow filed an amended return.

IRS Taxpayer Advocate link

Re: Dependent received 2021 refund check in mail for Earned Income Credit?

slamantia1971 — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 13:49:45 GMT

Thanks for your reply. The refund check came 3 weeks before the explanation letter arrived, so she did deposit it. There was no way for us to determine what the refund was for until we got the letter. I examined the check and it has all of the proper IRS watermarks etc.

I will help her contact the IRS - but admittedly dreading the process and time it is going to take to resolve their error.