What is IRS Letter 6419 and what should I do if I receive it?
The expansion of the Child Tax Credit in 2021 gave families a vital financial boost but some are unsure how to include the payments on their tax returns.
Tax season 2022 began on Monday, 24 January which means that the IRS is now accepting and processing tax returns relating to 2021.
Last year saw the Biden administration offer various types of financial relief for the American people to support them through the pandemic, but how should you include these payments on your tax return?
Fortunately in recent weeks the IRS has sent out millions of letters to eligible households offering guidance on exactly that. Letter 6419 has been sent out to families who received the Child Tax Credit in 2021 and it explains how the advance tax credit will affect your filing this year.
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Letter 6419 outlines your Child Tax Credit entitlement
In July 2021 the IRS sent out the first of six monthly directly payments as part of a temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit. Previously the Child Tax Credit was made available in the form of a single end-of-year tax credit, but a provision in the American Rescue Plan increased the entitlement and changed the distribution method.
To explain how this affects tax returns for 2021, the IRS’ Letter 6419 outlines the total number of advanced payments that the beneficiary should have received and the total dollar value. The letter will also show the number of children used to calculate the payments.
As is made clear in the letter, anyone who received the advanced payments must file a tax return for 2021. This is because the six months’ payment received in 2021 was only halve of the total amount on offer from the boosted programme, with the remainder to be claimed in the form of a tax credit when a tax return is filed.
Follow the instructions on your Letter 6419 and file your taxes so you can claim an additional tax credit worth up to $1,800 per child to reduce your tax bill or to increase the size of a tax refund.
IRS warns of mistakes on Letter 6419
The IRS letters are designed to provide information and a degree of certainty during what could be a very confusing tax season for millions. However that idea was somewhat undermined by the news that some of the letters distributed may include incorrect information.
In a conference call with reporters on Monday, Ken Corbin, chief taxpayer experience officer at the IRS, admitted: "The letters may not reflect what the taxpayer actually received.”
The IRS has confirmed that some taxpayers who changed their bank account during the distribution process of the monthly payments may have missed out on some of their entitlement. This may have resulted in an incorrect figure being given on their Letter 6419.
If you have any reason to believe that the information you received was not correct, head over to the IRS.gov website and log in to your account to see the correct information to include on your tax return.