I didn't get child tax credit on my 2015 tax return.

[chinna-amigo]

I didn't get child tax credit on my 2015 tax retutn. I applied for ITIN for my 2 year old on feb 2016 month and I got it on last week of May 2016. 

I had sent the following documents

1. 1040A form with ITIN number mentioned in it

2. Schedule 8812

3. W2

But now I just got the amount excluding Child tax credit. 

[DoninGA]

The child did not have an ITIN in 2015 since it was just issued.

[chinna-amigo]

do you mean child must have gotten ITIN in 2015 itself to be eligible for child Tax credit while filing in 2016?

[SweetieJean]

Yes, because the tax returns we file in 2016 are for the 2015 tax year.

[SweetieJean]

One change recent legislation makes is to prohibit retroactive claims of the Child Tax credit. It does this by preventing taxpayers from amending a return (or filing an original return) to claim the credit for any prior year in which the taxpayer or the qualifying child did not have an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). This means that taxpayers cannot file returns claiming the credit using an ITIN issued after the year for which the credit is being claimed. - See more at: http://www.thetaxadviser.com/newsletters/2016/jan/congress-makes-changes-to-popular-tax-credits.html...

[chinna-amigo]

I didn't get it what is retroactive claims ?

[SweetieJean]

Retroactive means "going back,"  taking effect from a date in the past.

[bine22]

Actually publication 972 says, that you need to have the ITIN by the due date of the return, see quote below.

So my understanding would be, that if you apply on time for the ITIN (together with the return or before as it seems it happened in this case), you would be eligible for the child tax credit for that year (but not for years before that).

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p972/ar02.html">https://www.irs.gov/publications/p972/ar02.html</a>

"Taxpayer identification number needed by due date of return. If you didn't have a social security number (an SSN) or ITIN by the due date of your 2015 return (including extensions), you can't claim the child tax credit or the additional child tax credit on either your original or an amended 2015 return, even if you later get an SSN (or ITIN). Also, neither credit is allowed on either your original or an amended 2015 return with respect to a child who didn't have an SSN, ATIN, or ITIN by the due date of your return (including extensions), even if that child later gets one of those numbers."

[SweetieJean]

"taxpayers cannot file returns claiming the credit using an ITIN issued after the year for which the credit is being claimed."
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.thetaxadviser.com/newsletters/2016/jan/congress-makes-changes-to-popular-tax-credits.html...>

[DoninGA]

Due date of return without extension, April 18, 2016.

[SweetieJean]

Which seems to be contracted by this:
"The bill prohibits an individual from retroactively claiming the child tax credit by amending a return (or filing an original return if he failed to file) for any prior year in which the individual or a qualifying child for whom the credit is claimed did not have an ITIN. The bill applies to returns, and any amendment or supplement to a return, filed after the date of enactment."
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.parkertaxpublishing.com/public/tax-news-issue-hundred-four.html">http://www.parkertaxpubl...>

[chinna-amigo]

So I can't claim CTC even though I applied for ITIN before tax return

[SweetieJean]

The explanations are contradictory. See this one:
"Taxpayers claiming the Child Tax Credit must now have an SSN or an ITIN by the duedate of the tax return (including extensions). Further, the child claimed for the credit must have an SSN, an ITIN, or an ATIN by the due date (including extensions). Taxpayers cannot make retroactive claims for the credit for a period that the taxpayer did not have a required identification number. This applies to any return filed after December 18, 2015."
 <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/VTA2016-01ConsolidatedAppropriationsAct2016.pdf">https://www.irs.gov...>

[shaffercpa]

Basically if you had filed an extension and received the ITIN before the due date of the extension (October 15, 2016), you could have taken the child tax credit for your child.  But, since you didn't extend, you had to receive the ITIN by April 15, 2016, which did not happen, so you lost the credit, and there is no going back and amending if you filed the return on time and didn't choose to extend originally.  Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where it would have paid to talk with a professional up-front.

The final comment by SweetieJean has the correct guidance on this.  The earlier comments Sweetie Jean and others were incomplete.  The code section on this is codes section 24(e)(1).

[yitzcahk1353]

Does this rule (that the SSN has to be assigned by the due date of the tax return) apply also for tax years before 2015?