Has anyone received their Letter 6419 for Child Tax Credit yet?

The IRS began sending Letter 6419 forms on January 15th, 2024, and will continue distribution through January 31st. According to their schedule, most taxpayers should receive it by February 7th. If you don't receive your letter by February 10th, I'd recommend checking your CTC information through your IRS online account. I'd wait until at least February 1st before becoming concerned about missing mail.

In my experience, waiting for these letters is risky. Last year I waited for a similar document that never came, which delayed my filing by weeks. I've learned to just log into my IRS account online and download the information directly. The letters are helpful but not worth delaying your filing if you can get the same info electronically. I've been burned too many times by missing mail.

I was in the exact same spot last week! I got really curious about what was taking so long, so I tried using taxr.ai to look at my tax account information. It helped me understand that my CTC payments were all recorded properly in the system even though I hadn't received the physical letter yet. The site analyzed my payment history and showed me exactly what should match up on my return. I found it super helpful since I was planning my finances around my expected refund amount.

I got mine yesterday. It came in a plain white envelope that looked like junk mail, so check your mail carefully. They don't make these letters stand out at all.

After waiting like a kid waiting for Christmas morning for my letter and getting nothing, I finally decided to call the IRS. It was like trying to win the lottery getting through their phone system. Then I found Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) which got me connected to an actual human at the IRS in about 15 minutes. It was like finding a secret passage in a video game! The agent confirmed my letter was sent but gave me all the info I needed over the phone so I could file without waiting any longer.

Got mine last week. Almost threw it away. Plain envelope. Looked like spam. Double-check your mail. Keep everything this time of year. Even if it looks unimportant. Better safe than sorry.

If you don't receive your Letter 6419, here's what you can do: 1. First, check your IRS online account at irs.gov/account 2. Click on the "Tax Records" tab 3. Look for the section about advance Child Tax Credit payments 4. The total amount will be listed there 5. Write down this amount for your tax return 6. Use this figure when filing, even without the physical letter 7. Keep a screenshot as proof in case of questions later I had to do this last year when my letter never showed up.

I received exactly $3,600 in advance CTC payments for my 1 child last year ($300 × 12 months), and my Letter 6419 arrived on January 18th. The IRS is sending out approximately 36 million of these letters, so they're being delivered in batches. If you received the full advance amount, you'll claim the remaining $1,800 on your 2023 return (total $5,400 for children under 6). For children 6-17, the total is $3,600 with $1,800 remaining to claim if you received all advance payments.

Has anyone compared the information on their Letter 6419 with what's shown in their IRS online account? According to the National Taxpayer Advocate report (https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/reports/2023-annual-report-to-congress/), there were discrepancies in some cases last year. I'm curious if this is still happening with the current batch of letters.