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Must-know changes for the 2021 tax season

Tax Document
Posted at 12:33 AM, Jan 11, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-11 06:05:33-05

CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Bill Antar's fingers are busy these days as tax season cranks into gear.

He owns Cape Coral Tax and Accounting Services. Like other tax preparers, he wants his clients to know the IRS is sending letters this month. The letters let them know the amount they received with their third round of stimulus checks and the amount they received with the advanced child tax credit.

"They can take those documents to their tax preparer and we can figure out exactly what they should've gotten for the child tax credit and the third round stimulus. It will get them the difference between what they got and what they should be getting," Antar said.

Antar said there was an increase advanced child tax credit for people making $75,000 filing individually and married couples making $150,000.

"You would get an additional thousand dollars of child tax credit for children six and older. For children under six, there was an additional $1,600 child tax credit. That is what you are going to be getting or be entitled to on your tax return. Half of that was paid up front in six monthly payments to tax payers and almost everyone got it as a direct deposit into their checking account and the rest of which they'll be able to claim on their tax return," Antar said.

Antar added unemployment benefits will be taxable this year.

"In 2020, unemployment for certain taxpayers who met certain income criteria. The $10,400 dollars unemployment benefit was tax free. In 2021, that is not the case. So, all unemployment benefits are taxable this year," Antar said.