2021 Tax Return Prep: Child Tax Credits & Economic Impact Payment Letters

If you received either an advance payment of the child tax credit or an economic impact payment (commonly referred to as a “stimulus check” or “recovery rebate”) during 2021, you should receive a letter in the mail in late 2021 or early 2022 from the IRS.

These letters will have information needed for use in preparing your Federal individual income tax return.

• If you received an advance payment of the child tax credit during 2021, you should receive Letter 6419, 2021 advance Child Tax Credit (CTC), which the IRS started sending out in late December.
  
  
• If you received a payment related to the third round of economic impact payments that started in March of 2021, you should receive Letter 6475, Your Third Economic Impact Payment, which the IRS will start sending out at the end of January.

These letters will contain important information for tax preparation, so please be sure to keep these letters with your tax records and submit them with your other tax information for use in preparing your 2021 tax return.