Buffalo, NY (WBEN) The annual tax season is upon us and those anxious to get an early start on the preparation process are getting a warning flag from a WBEN expert and regional authority on all things income tax.
If you're among those who took an advance on the child tax credit this past year, now may not be the time to dive-in and file your returns.
Esther Gulyas of EG Tax says the same scenario happened last year with stimulus checks. "Those who took a guess on what they got in advance, It held up their refund because everything equals what the IRS had in its database, it won't process those returns," says Gulyas. Same thing with the advance on the child tax credit.
"You have to adjust the credit you will get on your 2021 return. The IRS will send a letter saying how much you got in the advance," says Gulyas. She says the IRS will send a reconciliation form with the returns. "You have to reduce the amount of the advance you're entitled to by the amount they gave you. If you just do it before then or take a guess at it, you're absolutely shooting yourself in the foot because your return won't be processed until the IRS does the research and makes sure what should have been on the return." She says the form should be in your mailbox by the end of the month.
Gulyas suggests if you don't get what the form says, "make sure whatever is on the letter you that put on the reconciliation form and then you can file an amended return letter to get the adjustment." Anything else, and you run the risk of having your return delayed.
Gulyas says make sure your bank account and all other information on file with the IRS is current and accurate. She says don't file until you get that reconciliation letter.
