The federal tax deadline is less than one week away — and there’s still time to collect a pandemic-era IRS stimulus check. It’s your final chance to do so.
If you’re unsure if you received the money, there’s a simple way to check via your IRS account online, tax experts say.
The 2021 stimulus payments were worth up to $1,400 per individual, or $2,800 per married couple. A family of four could receive up to $5,600 with two eligible dependents.
Filers who never received the funds could claim the recovery rebate credit on their 2021 federal return. The last chance for that credit is the 2024 tax deadline on April 15, according to the IRS.
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You’re eligible for the full recovery rebate credit with up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income as a single filer or $150,000 for married couples filing jointly for 2021.
The phaseout begins with earnings above that and eligibility falls to zero once adjusted gross income reaches $80,000 for single filers or $160,000 for married couples filing together.
The ‘best place to look’ for stimulus checks
The IRS in December unveiled plans to send “special payments” to 1 million taxpayers who didn’t claim the 2021 recovery rebate credit on tax returns for that year.
Most payments should have arrived via direct deposit or mailed paper check by late January 2025, according to the agency.
You can create a login for your IRS online account to check the status of your economic impact payments, including the 2021 stimulus check.
“That’s the best place to look,” said Tommy Lucas, a certified financial planner and enrolled agent at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo in Orlando, Florida.
After logging into your account, you can find stimulus check information in the “tax records” section under the “records and status” toolbar.
You can also check the “tax records” section to see if you filed a return for 2021. While some taxpayers don’t earn enough to have a filing requirement, you must submit your 2021 return to claim the recovery rebate credit for your stimulus payment, Lucas explained.
File your 2021 return if ‘there’s any doubt’
In some cases, online accounts show the IRS issued stimulus checks, but filers say they never received the money, said Syracuse University law professor Robert Nassau, director of the school’s low-income tax clinic.
“If there’s any doubt” about your payment, it’s better to file your 2021 return and claim the recovery rebate credit before April 15, he said. Otherwise, you could miss the deadline and lose your chance to collect the money, Nassau added.