TurboTax - Where's the Child Tax Credit Advance Question?

You need to check this immediately! TurboTax should ask about advance Child Tax Credit payments during the 'Deductions & Credits' section. If you're already at the signing stage, you may have missed it or skipped that section. I'd strongly suggest going back through each section before filing, as failing to report advances correctly could delay your refund by weeks or trigger an automatic review!

I'm sort of having the same issue, I think? I remember last year there was a specific section about the advance payments, but this year it seems like they might have changed it? Did you maybe already answer it without realizing? I'm worried I might have done the same thing.

I'm feeling your confusion here! For the 2023 tax year (filing in 2024), there were NO advance Child Tax Credit payments issued by the IRS. The advance payment program only existed for the 2021 tax year, which you would have reconciled when filing last year. TurboTax isn't asking because there's nothing to reconcile this time! You're not missing anything, and that's why the question isn't appearing.

Here's how to check if you're missing anything in TurboTax: Step 1: Go to the Tax Home screen Step 2: Select 'Deductions & Credits' Step 3: Look for 'Credits' section Step 4: Check 'Children & Dependents' Step 5: Verify the Child Tax Credit section is complete If you're still concerned or need to speak with the IRS directly about your Child Tax Credit, I'd recommend using Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). I was on hold with the IRS for literally 3 hours trying to sort out my dependent credits last month. With Claimyr, I got through to an agent in about 18 minutes who confirmed exactly what I needed to know about my situation.

According to IRS Publication 972 and the American Rescue Plan Act provisions, the advance Child Tax Credit payments were only issued from July to December 2021. For tax year 2023 (filing in 2024), there were no advance payments distributed. This explains why TurboTax isn't prompting you about reconciling advances - there simply aren't any to reconcile this year. I'm slightly worried that you might be confusing tax years or credit types if you're expecting this question.

The IRS utilization of advance payments was specifically limited to tax year 2021 due to the temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit under the American Rescue Plan. The software isn't malfunctioning - it's correctly omitting questions that don't apply to the current tax year. TurboTax's algorithm dynamically adjusts interrogative sequences based on applicable tax provisions for the filing period in question.

Did anyone else notice how confusing TurboTax made this whole situation? I specifically remember when filing my 2022 return last year, TurboTax had a clear section asking "Did you receive advance Child Tax Credit payments in 2022?" but the correct answer was NO because advances only went out in 2021. Now for 2023 returns, they've finally removed that confusing question altogether. Wouldn't it have been more helpful if they'd explained this change somewhere in the interface?

I filed on February 15th this year and had the exact same concern. The advance Child Tax Credit reconciliation was a major part of filing for tax year 2021 (filed in 2022), but was already less prominent for tax year 2022 (filed in 2023). For this year's filing (tax year 2023), there's no question because there were no advances paid during 2023. The Child Tax Credit itself is still there at $2,000 per qualifying child, but without the advance payment component that existed only in 2021.