Entered Amount in IRS Form 6419, But This Adds up to Federal Tax Due. Why?

[bornagain3]

I'm in the middle of Tax Filing with TurboTax Premier 2021. My wife and I received IRS Form 6419 (advance Child Tax Credit Payments) with $900 each, total $1,800, which is correct. When I type $900 each, $1,800 is getting added to what I owe for Federal Tax Due. Is this normal? My understanding is we are still eligible for $200 Credit since we received $1,800 already, and that $200 Credit is clearly shown in the Overall Deductions & Credits page. But why that $1,800 is going against my Federal Tax Due? Am I missing something?

[rjs]

Yes, it's normal. What you're missing is that when you started your tax return TurboTax assumed that you did not receive any advance payments, so it gave you the full $2,000 credit, and calculated your tax on that basis. When you told it that you got $1,800 of the credit in advance, it reduced the credit to $200 instead of $2,000 and recalculated your tax, so your tax went up by $1,800.

The little box that shows your refund or tax due while you are working on your tax return is really not meaningful until you have entered everything.

[bornagain3]

Thank you. Now it makes more sense.