Liz Weston: How to keep your tax return from getting hung up

In January, the IRS began sending out notices to taxpayers who had received payments in 2021: Letter 6475 summarized how much stimulus money the taxpayer got, while Letter 6419 reported total advance child tax credit payments.

If you’re married and received the payments, you likely received two letters about the child tax payments — one for each spouse, Walker says. If your family has one child and received $300 a month for six months for a total of $1,800, for example, you typically would get two IRS letters, each reporting $900.

“Some people thought the second letter was a duplicate, and so they might have thrown it away,” Walker says.

If you’re missing any of this paperwork, don’t just rely on your memory or your bank records, Walker says. You can create an account on the IRS site and view IRS records to find the correct figures.

“If you just wing it on that number, it’s probably going to cause a delay,” Walker says.

This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance site NerdWallet. The content is for educational and informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. Liz Weston is a columnist at NerdWallet, a certified financial planner and author of “Your Credit Score.” Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @lizweston.