If I claimed two out of my three children in 2020 and received the advanced child tax credit in 2021, will there be any credit for my third child?

[or0250711]

My third child is 5 years old and would be eligible for a higher tax credit.  However, the agreement I have with my ex-spouse is that she will always claim the youngest, I will always claim the oldest, and our middle child will be claimed by one of us every other year.

[xmasbaby0]

If you received the advance payments between July and December for two children, and now you are only claiming one child on your 2021 tax return, you will not get any credit, except maybe the difference between the credit for a child under the age of 6.    The advance payments you got already equal the amount for one child for 2021.   The one who claims the youngest child is the one who gets the higher CTC amount.

You have to enter the amount from letter 6419 that the IRS sends you.   The software will reconcile any advance payments you received with any possible amount you can still receive.   If you get anything it will show on line 28 of your Form 1040.

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.

[ColeenD3]

Your third child is eligible for the credit. The credit goes to the person who claimed the dependent.

Taxpayers who claim at least one child as their dependent on their tax return may be eligible to benefit from the child tax credit. It’s important for people who might qualify for this credit to review the eligibility rules to make sure they still qualify. Taxpayers who haven’t qualified in the past should also check because they may now be able to claim the credit.

[Opus 17]

The issue for you is that the Child Tax Credit is only a credit on your 2021 tax return, and the advance payments were only estimates.  The credit on your tax return is based on the number of children you claim, and it not tied to their identities.  If you claim one child on your 2021 return, you will get credit for one child, no matter how much advance money you got, and no matter which child it was.  Depending on your income, you might even have to repay part of the advance payments you received.