The IRS Is Sending Out $2.4 Billion in Unclaimed Stimulus Checks

One million people will be getting checks from the IRS in the coming weeks, the agency announced Friday. The payments, worth up to $1,400 per person, are an effort to make sure everyone receives the federal pandemic stimulus money they were eligible for.

The payments are for the Recovery Rebate Credit that Americans could claim on their 2021 tax returns. Eligible individuals don't need to do anything to collect their money. Recipients can expect to receive either electronic payments or paper checks by late January 2025, the IRS said. In total, the agency is sending out $2.4 billion in payments.

Who’s eligible for these payments?

Taxpayers eligible for the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credits are those who were eligible for but did not receive the third pandemic-era stimulus payment. (Earlier, the IRS issued a similar credit, the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit, which was a credit for people who were eligible for but didn't receive one or both of the first two rounds of stimulus payments.)

Most eligible taxpayers already received this payment, which was a refundable credit on 2021 taxes, according to the IRS. (“Refundable” means that you can get the money even if you don’t owe any income taxes when you file. “Nonrefundable” means that a credit is applied against taxes you owe, but you don’t get anything extra if you don’t owe the IRS come April.) The IRS has issued announcements before to raise awareness of these unclaimed stimulus funds, urging eligible taxpayers to file for them. The agency has an online fact sheet with more information about general eligibility for both iterations of this credit.

How will the payments be distributed?

The IRS says it will notify eligible taxpayers by mail that they can expect a payment. It will send electronic payments and paper checks to the bank account listed on a taxpayer’s 2023 tax return, or address on file with the agency, respectively. Eligible individuals who have closed the account on their 2023 return will still get their payment. The bank will return the payment and the IRS said it will send out the payment via mail.

People who didn’t owe any taxes or file a tax return in 2021 might be eligible for this credit payment, but they need to submit their 2021 return by April 15, 2025 in order to claim the credit, along with any other refund for which they might be eligible, the IRS said.

Just a reminder: You don’t need to pay anyone to file a tax return. The IRS has many resources available for taxpayers eligible to file their taxes for free, including a program called IRS Direct File, which filers with simple returns in a handful of states can use. A bigger program is IRS Free File, for which millions of taxpayers are eligible within certain income limits ($79,000 for individuals filing their 2023 taxes).

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