When I was finishing up on this year's taxes, I looked at a breakdown in TurboTax - comparing this year with last year - which showed that for some reason, I received no child tax credit last year, despite having filled in info about both children. (Perhaps I checked the box wrong somewhere). This cost me at least $1500. Can I still amend this, and how do I go about doing so? Thank you.
Yes, you can amend if you did not receive a credit you qualified for. To amend your 2023 tax return, follow the instructions in the link below. How do I amend my federal tax return for a prior year? After you prepare the federal amendment, check the state return as well. If the amount of your refund increases on both returns, file both amendments.
Yes ---you can still amend. If you were eligible for the CTC and the additional refundable child tax credit, those credits were added automatically to lines 19 and 28 of your 2023 Form 1040. The amount on line 28 is based on how much you earned from working---the maximum amount for 2023 for line 19 for one child was $2000; the maximum amount possible for line 28 for one child was $1600.
Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number. Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment. If your child was born in 2024 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year. There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support. Say NO to that question.
Wait until your original return has been fully processed before you amend, and make sure you have saved a pdf of the original return before you amend. (If you do not save it as a pdf, the amended return will overwrite the original, and the original will be lost forever)
Do not expect quick results from amending. It can take four months or more for the IRS to process an amended return.
You can watch for information here:
https://www.irs.gov/Filing/Individuals/Amended-Returns-(Form-1040-X)/Wheres-My-Amended-Return-1