IRS Letter 6419: What you need before reporting your child tax credit payments

As you gather your tax documents this year, you’ll want to keep an eye out for IRS Letter 6419. The IRS plans to send this important notice in late January to those who received advance child tax credit payments in 2021.

Why is the letter so important? The details in the document will not only help you report your advance payments correctly — it will also help you claim the other half of your child tax credit. Additionally, relying on the amounts in the letter can help you avoid delays in processing your return and sending your refund.

In the post, we’ll outline what the letter is, what you need to know, and an alternative you can use if you don’t have your IRS Letter 6419.

What is a letter 6419?

You can think of the letter like a tax form. The letter 6419 is the official documentation that has the details you need to report your advance child tax credit payments.

Specifically, it will show you:

• The total amount of advance CTC payments you received for 2021. This information will go on Schedule 8812, line 14f or 15e as applicable.

• Number of qualifying children counted in determining the advance CTC.

In addition to the details above, the letter 6419 outlines how the IRS calculated your amount and the conditions for repayment. You can also find those details in our 2021 child tax vredit article.

Do I really need the 6419 letter to file? Can I just use my bank statement?

We strongly encourage you to reference IRS letter 6419 before you file your taxes. Using incorrect amounts on your return could trigger a manual review of your return, which could delay your return — and refund for weeks.

Referencing your bank statements may not be the best route. In some cases, amounts may have been adjusted due do a variety of reasons, including if the processing of a 2020 return after an initial advance CTC payment was made. Or, the amounts may have changed from one payment to the next as you made changes in the IRS child tax credit portal.

Ready to file but don’t have your letter? Read on to learn about using the IRS child tax credit portal as alternative.

Who receives a letter 6419?

Anyone who received at least one advance child tax credit payments from July to December 2021 will receive Letter 6419. So, even if you stopped payments at some point, you should still expect to receive a letter.

Married filers should take note: You’ll both receive your own IRS Letter 6419. You’ll need to have both documents to file an accurate return and claim the second half of your credit.

What if I can’t find my Letter 6419?

If you’re ready to file, but don’t have your letter, there is an alternative. You can use the IRS child tax credit portal with an ID.me account to verify the details from the letter.

Here’s how to check your advance child tax credit payments:

• Create a new ID.me account (if you don’t have one) by going to: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-update-portal

• Click Manage Advance Payments

• Click ID.me Create New Account

• Follow the on-screen instructions to provide information to set up the secure ID.me account. Note that users may be asked to create a live video of themselves (using phone or webcam) and/or upload photo identification. For help, visit the ID.me help page.

Once you’ve created an ID.me account, you can access the portal at the link directly above.