Some U.S. taxpayers will receive a surprise financial boost by the end of January.
The Internal Revenue System announced that it will send out a new wave of stimulus payments worth $2.4 billion to Americans who missed earlier payments. The agency said it discovered roughly one million eligible taxpayers who never claimed the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns.
Individual payments are as high as $1,400.
IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a news release the payments would be automatically direct deposited or sent by paper check by the end of January in most cases. Eligible taxpayers do not need to do anything to receive the checks. They will receive a letter notifying them of the incoming stimulus payment.
“The IRS continues to work hard to make improvements and help taxpayers,” Werfel said in the release. “To minimize headaches and get this money to eligible taxpayers, we’re making these payments automatic, meaning these people will not be required to go through the extensive process of filing an amended return to receive it.”
Recipients will include those who filed a 2021 tax return but either left the Recovery Rebate Credit field blank or entered zero when they were actually eligible for the payment. To check eligibility, taxpayers can look at their 2021 tax returns and see if they left the Recover Rebate Credit field blank or entered zero.
Taxpayers who did not file a 2021 tax return could still be eligible to receive the stimulus check if they file their 2021 return and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit by April 15, 2025, the revenue service said.
Stimulus payments up to $1,400 were sent out to Americans as part of a $1.9-trillion COVID-19 relief bill. To get a check, Americans were required to make less than $75,000 per year or under $150,000 as a household.
The checks were one of three rounds of stimulus payments during the pandemic, totaling $814 billion. In March 2020, eligible individuals received up to $1,200 per income tax filer and $500 per child under the CARES Act. In December 2020, eligible individuals received up to $600 per income tax filer and $600 per child under the Consolidated Appropriations Act. In March 2021, eligible individuals received up to $1,400 per income tax filer and $1,400 per child under the American Rescue Plan Act.
Most taxpayers eligible for the stimulus payments have already received a check, the agency said.
Source: IRS is sending up to $1,400 to 1 million taxpayers. Are you one of them?
