DETROIT – There’s an important update for the thousands of people who took advantage of the child tax credit last year.
Changes are coming to how it all works and it all starts with how you file your taxes. For those who took the payments, here’s what the federal government did.
They took half of your annual child tax credit and gave it to you as cash between July and December last year. But, now that it’s time to file your taxes, you need to know what to do with these two IRS forms: 6419 and the 8812.
Read: If you made $73K or less then you can file your federal taxes for free online
Like many Americans, Lachell Hunt of Highland Park took the government cash for her two children. She said it helped just a tad.
Now, she and everyone who took the payments, need to be on the lookout in the mail for an IRS form 6419. That form tells you how much advance child tax credit money you received and how many children the government recognized as receiving the cash.
Read: Mayor Duggan urges Detroit residents to take advantage of child tax credit
You will need to enter the exact numbers from the 6419 onto the IRS form 8812. When you finish the 8812 calculations, you will know how much your total child tax credit is and whether you will receive the other half in a refund.
It could also mean a lesser tax refund, if any. There’s also the possibility you could wind up owing money.
Opting out was a choice, but now that you’ve received the cash, it’s all about getting your taxes filed properly. Mistakes can delay any refund. It can also help you to find out whether you owe money and give you time to manage to how to pay the IRS.
There are many ways to get help if you’re in this situation and one of them is the Metro Detroit Accounting Aid Society. They will help you file your taxes for free with an expert eye to make sure everything is properly entered on your tax form.