Why Excess Payments Could Happen
Since the IRS has based the credit on the taxpayers 2020 or 2019 income, they will need to pay the credits back if they make more money on their 2021 tax returns. However, in 2020, many families had lower incomes because of the pandemic job cuts or temporary closure of establishments due to the lockdowns.
Tax expert Norman Golden expects that many families will be confused by the free money from the government when they reconcile their taxes, especially if they have gone back to regular work, received a raise from their employers, or had more sources of income where they no longer qualify for the child tax credit.