About a million U.S. taxpayers will automatically receive a one-time payment of up to $1,400 from the IRS in the coming weeks.
These special payments will be deposited directly into eligible recipients’ bank accounts or mailed as paper checks.
In total, the IRS will return $2.4 billion to taxpayers who did not claim a recovery rebate on their 2021 tax returns.
The credit was available to those who missed any of the COVID stimulus payments or received less than the full amount, AP reported.
“Looking at our internal data, we realized that a million taxpayers overlooked claiming this complex credit when they actually qualified for it,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said Friday.
The payments will be sent to those who filed a 2021 tax return but left the Recovery Rebate Credit field blank, or who set aside $0 when they were actually eligible for the credit.
If you haven’t yet filed a 2021 tax return to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit, the deadline is April 15, 2025, according to the IRS.
Those receiving a special payment now will not need to take any action, and payments will arrive automatically by the end of January 2025.
About 1 million U.S. taxpayers will automatically receive a one-time payment of up to $1,400
Payments will be sent to the bank account listed on the taxpayer’s 2023 tax return or by check to the address on file with the IRS.
The maximum payment is $1,400, but amounts vary by taxpayer.
Separate letters will also be sent to eligible taxpayers notifying them of the special payments.
The Covid stimulus payments came in three rounds and cost the government about $814 billion.
The checks were intended to help households affected by the pandemic and were calculated based on income, tax filing status and number of children or eligible dependents.
The first check was sent in March 2020 and was worth up to $1,200 per income tax filer and $500 per child.
The second stimulus hit bank accounts in December 2020; individuals received up to $600 per income tax filer and $600 per child.
The final payment was sent in March 2021 under the American Rescue Plan Act, under which individuals received up to $1,400 per income tax filer and $1,400 per child.