Child Tax Credit Amount Less Than Expected - Anyone Else?

This is def happening to a lot of ppl rn. The IRS has been applying different phase-out thresholds for 2023 CTC depending on filing status and AGI. If you're over $200k (single) or $400k (MFJ) you'll see partial credits. Also, amended returns often trigger additional review which can affect how credits are calculated. Might wanna check your transcript to see if there's a 570/971 combo code showing up.

It seems like you might be experiencing one of the common CTC calculation issues this year. If you amended your return, there's a possibility that the system is still using some data from your original filing. In some cases, the IRS might have applied the older CTC rules instead of the current ones, especially if your amendment crossed tax years or included significant income changes.

This happened to me too! It's crazy how this is so much more complicated than my state refund which came perfectly. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my transcript and it showed exactly why my CTC was reduced - apparently there was a prior year adjustment affecting my current year calculation. The tool explained it way better than the IRS letter I got later.

I had this exact problem last year when I filed an amended return. My CTC was about $600 less than it should have been. I learned that amended returns often get flagged for additional review, especially when they involve tax credits. In my case, I had to wait about 6 weeks before the correct amount was issued in a separate payment. Hang in there!

After waiting exactly 47 days with no resolution on my reduced CTC, I finally got through to an IRS agent using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). The agent confirmed there was a calculation error on their end due to my amended return. They fixed it while I was on the phone and I received the missing $1,400 exactly 9 days later. Worth the call instead of waiting for them to maybe catch the error eventually.

You might want to check if you're hitting the AGI thresholds. The CTC starts phasing out at $200k for single and $400k for married filing jointly. A lot of people miss this detail... ask me how I know 😅. If your amended return pushed you over one of these thresholds, that could explain the reduction. Worth checking your AGI on line 11 of your 1040 to confirm.

I went through this exact situation last month with my amended return. The CTC was short by about $1,200 for my two kids. After calling the IRS (took 3 attempts), I discovered that when you file an amended return, sometimes the system doesn't properly apply all the qualifying child information from the amendment. In my case, they had to manually review my return and issue a supplemental payment. It took about 3 weeks after the call, but I eventually got the full amount I was entitled to.