2021 Child Tax Credit and Economic Impact Payments

The IRS has begun issuing the following two separate information letters to qualifying taxpayers in January 2022:

• Letter 6419: Provides the amount of Advanced Child Tax Credit payments received by the taxpayer for 2021 and the number of qualifying children used to calculate the advanced payments; and
• Letter 6475: Provides the amount of Economic Impact Payments received by the taxpayer for 2021, including initial payments and any “plus-up” payments received

Letter 6475 only applies to the third round of Economic Impact Payments, which were issued in March through December of 2021. The third round of Economic Impact Payments, including “plus-up” payments, were advance payments of the 2021 recovery rebate credit that would be claimed on a 2021 tax return. Plus-up payments were additional payments the IRS sent to people who received a third Economic Impact Payment based on a 2019 tax return or information received from the Social Security Administration, Railroad Retirement Board or Veterans Affairs. Plus-up payments were also sent to people who were eligible for a larger amount based on their 2020 tax return.

Please retain copies of these two letters and send them with your 2021 tax information to our office. These are necessary because the Advanced Child Tax Credit payments and the third round of Economic Impact Payments are required to be reconciled on your 2021 income tax returns. You can also see the payments if you have an IRS account. If you do not already have an account, we highly encourage to walk through the steps to create one at www.irs.gov/payments/view-your-tax-account.