Why is TurboTax insisting that I must be a Puerto Rican?

[DoctorWho]

I'm going through the Federal tax return review. TurboTax says that there's an issue with "Schedule 8812: Puerto Rico resident must be entered".

Huh? I'm not a Puerto Rican. I live in New Mexico. I entered that very early on when starting the TT interview. Why does TT think I'm a Puerto Rican? How did it come to that conclusion? And if it's made this mistake, what other mistakes has TT made?

There are 3 radio buttons which TT presents to me:

• No entry - (this is preselected)
• Puerto Rico resident yes
• Puerto Rico resident no

None of us are Puerto Rican. Nor to we live there. Do I leave the "No entry" selected or do I do something else? It also has a portion of Schedule 8812 here, with lines 10, 11 and 12 shown, and a part of A1 and I guess A2.

[RaifH]

Form 8812 is for the Child Tax Credit. Most people who do not have children skip past this section, but everyone is required to answer a few questions this year due to the advanced child tax credits that were sent out in 2021. 

The easiest way to clear the errors is to confirm you did not receive any advance payments:

1. In the Federal section of your return, go to Deductions & Credits
2. Scroll down to You and Your Family and click Revisit/Start next to Advance payments, Child and Other Dependent Tax Credits
3. Click Continue
4. Answer Let's start with where you spent the most time in 2021.
5. Answer No to Did you receive any advance Child Tax Credit payments in 2021?

You can also select Puerto Rico resident no, but you may have to clear a few errors on this form before it is finally accepted. It is easier just to do it through the interview above.  

[DoctorWho]

@RaifH I've done as you've suggested, by going back to the Federal section, Deductions & Credits. Then I scrolled down to You and Your Family. However, there is no Advanced payments, Child and Other Dependent Tax Credits.

[DoninGA]

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@DoctorWho wrote:

@RaifH I've done as you've suggested, by going back to the Federal section, Deductions & Credits. Then I scrolled down to You and Your Family. However, there is no Advanced payments, Child and Other Dependent Tax Credits.

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Child and Other Dependent Tax Credit, click on the start or update button

[DoctorWho]

What is Letter 6419? I am fairly sure I didn't receive that, but I'm not 100% sure.

Looking at my return from last year, on line 19, "Child tax credit or credit for other dependents" there is an amount there. 

[DoninGA]

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@DoctorWho wrote:

What is Letter 6419? I am fairly sure I didn't receive that, but I'm not 100% sure.

Looking at my return from last year, on line 19, "Child tax credit or credit for other dependents" there is an amount there. 

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Go to this IRS website for the Letter 6419 information - https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-letter-6419

[DawnC]

Letter 6419 includes:

• Total amount of 2021 advance Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments
• Number of qualifying children used to calculate advance payments, and repayment protection when filing your 2021 federal tax return
  • See Topic H in the FAQs for advance Child Tax Credit Payments information

To help taxpayers reconcile and receive 2021 CTC, the IRS is sending Letter 6419, Advance Child Tax Credit Reconciliation from late December 2021 through January 2022. Taxpayers should keep this, and any other IRS letters about advance CTC payments, with their tax records.   

Families who received advance payments must:

• File a 2021 tax return
• Compare the advance payments received in 2021 with the CTC amount they can claim for 2021

This letter contains helpful information for preparing tax returns. Taxpayers who received advance payments can also check amounts using the CTC Update Portal and Online Account on IRS.gov.

Eligible families who didn't receive advance child tax credit payments can claim the full amount of the child tax credit on their 2021 federal tax return. This includes families who don't normally need to file a tax return.

[DoctorWho]

Well, I'm sorry, but either Letter 6419 was never delivered to our home (a possibility as other letters aren't delivered here or are delivered elsewhere), or we've lost it. I'll try looking for it, but when I looked for letters 1444 and 6475, I did not come across any other letters. Is there a way I can view/download letter 6419 online?

[JillS56]

Yes, letter 6419 is regarding Advanced Child Tax Credit.   You can log into the  Advanced Child Tax Credit Portal.   You can verify what the IRS shows you received in advanced child tax credit.

[DoctorWho]

I have gone through all the steps required to get an account on ID.me and the IRS websites. Now I'm on the IRS website. I'm trying to find Letter 6419, so I went to the Notices and Letters section. There's nothing there. It says, "There are no notices at this time."

So, how/where on that website do I go to get a copy of Letter 6419?