Child Tax Credit 2022: IRS warns of errors in Letter 6419, what should you do?

Tax season 2022 got underway earlier this week and the IRS is hoping that this year’s tax filing goes more smoothly than the previous two. Tax returns submitted in 2020 and 2021 were disrupted by the pandemic and the IRS has acquired a backlog of more than six million unprocessed filings.

In order to work through that backlog efficiently IRS chief Charles Rettig has called on filers to submit their tax returns using the e-Filing online system. The tax agency is also sending out letters to households who received Child Tax Credit payments or stimulus checks during 2021, advising them how to include the payments in their return.

However the IRS has admitted that some versions of the Letter 6419, sent out to Child Tax Credit recipients, include mistakes that could affect your filing.

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IRS announces Letter 6419 error

In late December and early January the IRS sent out Letter 6419 to the roughly 35 million families who benefitted from the Child Tax Credit expansion in 2021, outlining how the payments should be declared in the 2022 tax return.

But earlier this week the IRS confirmed that a small group of taxpayers who moved or switched banks during December may not have received the sixth and final monthly payment which was scheduled for that month. In this instance the Letter 6419 may not reflect with the household actually received.

In a conference call on Monday Ken Corbin, chief taxpayer experience officer at the IRS, admitted that in this situation “the letters may not reflect what the taxpayer actually received.”

Part of the reason for the huge backlog from previous years stems from problems with tax returns that were flagged for review. This process is much more time-consuming for the agency and is something that the IRS had hoped to avoid by issuing letters to filers. In some instances, that effort appears to have backfired.

How to know if your Letter 6419 was wrong

Submitting incorrect details on your tax return can have painful consequences and you may face significant delays in the filing process. It may also stop you from receiving any outstanding tax refund you may be due, so make sure your return is accurate.

"We want taxpayers to have the info they need to file an accurate return," said Corbin. "If taxpayers have questions or concerns about the information in their letter, they can also go to IRS.gov and look on their online account."

If you are concerned that the details on your Letter 6419 are wrong then head over to the IRS website. Simply log into your filer’s account on the site and view your payments, which will show the correct information and allow you to complete your tax return worry-free.