IRS: 1 Million Taxpayers to Get Up to $1,400 In Unclaimed Stimulus Payments
Around a million eligible taxpayers who did not claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns can expect to automatically receive these payments by late January 2025, the IRS announced. (IR 2024-314, 12/20/2024)
The agency said these taxpayers would not have to go through the process of filing an amended return to receive the payments, which will be issued automatically this December and should arrive “in most cases” by next month.
“Looking at our internal data, we realized that one million taxpayers overlooked claiming this complex credit when they were actually eligible,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “To minimize headaches and get this money to eligible taxpayers, we’re making these payments automatic.”
The Recovery Rebate Credit is a refundable credit for individuals who did not receive one or more economic impact payments, also known as stimulus payments.
Taxpayers who qualify for the special payment are those who filed a 2021 tax return but had the field for the Recovery Rebate Credit left blank or incorrectly filled out as $0 despite being eligible for the credit.
Payments vary, but an individual can get up to $1,400. The cumulative amount to be issued is an estimated $2.4 billion.
The payment will be sent to the bank account listed on the taxpayer’s 2023 tax return or to the address of record. It will be directly deposited or sent by paper check, and taxpayers will be notified of the payment.
File 2021 return before its too late. The IRS said taxpayers who have not yet filed their 2021 tax returns might also be eligible, but they have to file their returns to claim the credit and any other refund they might be owed by the April 15, 2025, deadline.
To calculate the amount of Recovery Rebate Credit, taxpayers may access their IRS Online Account to determine how much they received in economic impact payments.
The IRS also clarified that any Recovery Rebate Credit received does not count as income when determining eligibility for federal benefits such as Supplemental Security Income, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the Special Supplemental
