If the IRS ends up owing you money from the first or second stimulus check, you can still claim it this year.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Millions of Americans have already received their second stimulus check for up to $600 per eligible person in the past two weeks, through direct deposit, mailed check or EIP card. If you haven’t gotten yours yet, keep an eye out: The IRS and Treasury have a deadline of Friday, Jan. 15 to send out your second check, due to the cutoff stated in December’s stimulus bill (you can track your payment online through the IRS, or track it through the mail).
What happens if you don’t get your second stimulus payment by the Friday deadline, or if it arrives but is missing money for your dependents? And what if your first check never arrived? If you are qualified to get a stimulus payment, don’t worry — that money won’t be forfeited. But you will have to do some extra work to make sure you get the stimulus payment you’re owed this year.
To claim your missing stimulus money, during tax season this year, you’ll have to file for a Recovery Rebate Credit from the IRS. This credit would either increase the amount of your tax refund or lower the amount of the tax you need to pay by the amount of stimulus money the government owes you on the first and second payments. (In some cases — like if you got a confirmation letter from the IRS about getting a payment, but the payment never arrived — you may have to get in touch with the IRS.) We break down what you need to know about filing for a Recovery Rebate Credit here. This story was updated recently.
When and how to file a claim for a missing stimulus check
If you belong to one of the groups outlined below, or estimated your total for the first stimulus payment or used our calculator to get an idea of your payment for the second and think the IRS didn’t send the full amount you qualified for, you have another chance this year to claim missing stimulus check money through an IRS Recovery Rebate Credit.
You can file for this credit when you do your federal tax returns this year; if the typical schedule holds, your federal tax return will be due April 15 (though in 2020, the IRS extended the deadline to July 15 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic).
Read more: How much total money you could get with a $2,000 third stimulus check
While the IRS doesn’t have final instructions yet for every personal situation (more on these below), the agency does say that people who file taxes can use what will be called the Recovery Rebate Credit on the 2020 Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR to claim a catch-up payment. The IRS will provide a Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet to help you work out if you are missing a payment and for how much.
To start, you’ll need the IRS’ calculated amount from the letter called Notice 1444 for the first payment and Notice 1444-B for the second payment when you file this year.
If you file for the credit and are owed money, you’ll either see the amount of your tax refund increased or the amount of tax you owe lowered, depending on the amount of stimulus money you’re eligible to receive.
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Second stimulus checks: Everything you need to know
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If you don’t normally file a federal tax return, here’s what to do
Last fall, the IRS sent letters to 9 million Americans who may have qualified for a payment but perhaps didn’t know they needed to register to claim it. This group — which the IRS categorizes as “nonfilers” — includes people who didn’t file a tax return in 2018 or 2019, such as older adults, retirees, SSDI or SSI recipients and individuals with incomes less than $12,200. Those in this group needed to file a claim using the Non-Filers tool by Nov. 21. The IRS said if you missed the deadline you can claim the payment, which, again, it calls a Recovery Rebate Credit, this year when you file a 2020 federal income tax return:
When you file a 2020 Form 1040 or 1040SR you may be eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit. Save your IRS letter – Notice 1444 Your Economic Impact Payment – with your 2020 tax records. You’ll need the amount of the payment in the letter when you file in 2021.
If you’re missing a payment for a dependent child, here’s what to know
Under the CARES Act, each qualifying child dependent — those 16 years old and younger — was eligible for a $500 check. But some people’s payments were short $500 for each eligible dependent.
If you claimed it by Nov. 21 of 2020 you should receive the payment in December of last year. You can use our stimulus check calculator to get an idea of how much you may be owed.
As with the nonfilers, if you missed the deadline, the IRS said you can claim the payment on your 2020 federal tax return this year, by filing a 2020 Form 1040 or 1040-SR.
Note that in a few cases, where parents are separated or divorced and share joint custody of a dependent, each parent can get a $500 payment per eligible child, so you may not even be aware you’re eligible for the payment to begin with.
Was you stimulus check garnished by mistake?
Although there are a few cases where the federal government or a debt collector could seize your first payment to cover an outstanding debt, in general, if you qualify for a check, it’s yours to spend or save as you want. One area where the federal government can garnish the first check is for overdue child support. You can can’t have your second check seized for overdue support. However, if the parents are separated or divorced, only the spouse who owes child support should have the check seized.
According to the IRS, the parent who does not owe child support should receive their portion of the first payment without having to take action. If you haven’t received your check, the IRS said it is working to send out the missing payments. While you don’t have much recourse to appeal IRS decisions, you can also try the Non-Filers tool to create a record of your claim.
What to do if you used our stimulus check calculator and believe the amount you got isn’t accurate
Finally, if you use our first stimulus check calculator or second payment calculator and find you may have qualified for a larger payment than you received, you can use the IRS Get My Payment tool to see if a check is in the works. If the IRS is waiting on information from you it needs to make your payment, you might still be able to claim your money this year.
There are still unclaimed stimulus checks.
Sarah Tew/CNET
If you’re a US citizen abroad, in US territories or aren’t a citizen
The IRS has rules that set the payment eligibility guidelines for US citizens who live abroad and non-US citizens who work in the US — along with spouses of nonresident aliens. We have a guide that walks through the various eligibility scenarios along with what to do if you qualify but didn’t get a check.
People in jail or prison qualify for a check by court order
Since April, when it first started sending payments, the IRS has gone back and forth on whether those who are in US jails and prisons qualify for a stimulus check.
A ruling last fall from a federal judge in California, however, seemed to have settled the question for now and required the IRS to contact those incarcerated who can file a claim for a stimulus check. The deadline to file a claim in 2020 — either through the mail or online — has passed. As with others who are missing a payment, the IRS said if you do not receive a payment by Dec. 31, 2020, you may be able to claim it this year by filing a 2020 Form 1040 or 1040-SR.
For everything to know about the first payment, see our guide to the first round of checks. We also have an idea of how much money you could get in a $2,000 stimulus check, what the situation is with a third stimulus payment and all the benefits the next stimulus package could bring.