IRS says I need to file 8812 to claim my remaining child tax credit but I don't see turbotax confirming that will happen before I submit.

[kevinalanlee]

I entered the $3k that was received in 2021 and I need to claim the other $3k with form 8812.  Once I entered the $3k the current refund amount was reduced by $3k but should be increased by $3k since I have two children and total should be $6k in 2021.  

[MinhT1]

TurboTax will generate automatically form 8812 when applicable.

Form 8812 is used to report the advance child tax credits received and to calculate the additional child tax credit when applicable.

In TurboTax be sure to visit the section Advance payments, Child and Other Dependent Tax Credits under Deductions and Credits. Please follow the interview and answer all questions.

[kevinalanlee]

Thank you Minh, I understand the forms are all automatically generated.  The IRS sent the LETTER 6419 to myself and my wife, each showing $1500, which is correct for advance payment of the credit.  We are eligible for another $3k since we have two children.  The LETTER states I need to file Schedule 8812 to claim the remaining credit.  TurboTax deducted $3k from the refund amount after I entered $3k of advanced payment.  Which is correct but at the end it didn't add back the additional $3k that I am eligible for.  Filing 8812 would give me the tax credit as a refund or would it continue this year on a monthly $500 payment? 

[ThomasM125]

It is possible that the additional $3,000 refund for the child tax credit was already included in your refund before you entered the $3,000 in payments you received.

You can look at your form 1040 to see how much child tax credit you are getting. It will be listed on line 19 and/or line 28 on your form 1040.

You can view your form 1040 while working in the online version of TurboTax by following these steps:

While working on your return in the Federal section of TurboTax:

   1.  Choose the Tax Tools icon on our left menu bar

   2.  Tools

   3.  View Tax Summary

   4.  Choose the Preview my 1040 on your left menu bar

[kevinalanlee]

Thanks again Minh.  line 19 doesn't show anything, its nonrefundable child tax credit.  Line 28 shows $3k, refundable credit.  So this added to my withholding which I guess is the remaining $3k credit to claim?  Ok I think this is correct.  

[MinhT1]

@kevinalanlee

Without looking at your tax return, I cannot comment on the numbers that you quoted.

Make sure that you answer correctly all the questions in the section Advance payments, Child and Other Dependent Tax Credits and TurboTax will populate correctly form 8812.

[MinhT1]

@kevinalanlee

Without looking at your tax return, I cannot comment on the numbers that you quoted.

Make sure that you answer correctly all the questions in the section Advance payments, Child and Other Dependent Tax Credits and TurboTax will populate correctly form 8812.

[kevinalanlee]

Thanks @MinhT1 !  I filled out the advanced child tax credit completely.  We did receive the monthly $500 for 6 months so the total is $3,000.  I entered $2,500 to confirm the line 28 on the 1040 and then it showed $3500, so that is the remaining amount that I could claim, so I changed it back to $3,000 which is the correct amount I should change.  Since the number is the same for what I received and what I am eligible to claim, I tested it to make sure I wasn't confused.  

But thank you for teaching me about previewing the 1040.  I didn't know I can access the tax form before filing the tax form.  

You been a great help!  Thank you so much and I didn't want to pay extra for the live chat which I was pretty sure TurboTax and the 8812 schedule wouldn't be missing or incomplete when I use TurboTax!

[VolvoGirl]

Yes Turbo Tax started out giving you the full amount.  Then at the end you entered how much you already received so it took it off.  That's why you saw your refund go down. 

[fanfare]

@kevinalanlee 

Always print a copy of your completed tax return for your records, and review it carefully before e-Filing.
You will need it if you are audited by the IRS, or to amend if a TurboTax update changes your return or for any other reason,

AND, to find your AGI next year.
OR, to verify Line 28 has the second half of your child tax credits.

NOTE: in order to print you have to pay first.

[kevinalanlee]

@fanfare @VolvoGirl @MinhT1 @ThomasM125 

Thank you all very much for your insights and tips, I definitely learned something new for TurboTax which I didn't know the past 10 years using it.  

TurboTax was faster than I expected and had already included the remaining Child Tax Credit only to see it deduct by the other half received in 2021.  I didn't know I could preview the 1040 to check, which that was my thinking.  @MinhT1 showed me how.  

This community is awesome, saved me money from having to pay for Live Tax Agent Chat!

Best of luck to y'all this tax season, wishing you the smoothest and most tax savings return for 2021!