Quote Originally Posted by Johnson85 View Post
It is not a loan. It is an actual credit. It is called an advance because it is a credit for your 2020 taxes, but you get it right now. The only way it will be an "loan", maybe, is if you qualify for the credit based on your 2018 tax return (or 2019 tax return if it's already filed) but then you don't qualify based on your 2020 taxes. I assume if you end up not qualifying on your 2020 tax return it will make your 2020 taxes higher but I haven't been able to verify yet. I'm interested b/c had some one time issues make us eligible based on our 2018 tax return but won't be eligible based on 2020 unless we have some unfortunate surprises between now and the end of the year.
You're right. It is a refundable tax credit. It isn't a loan. You don't pay it back if you're not eligible in 2020.