IRS Says Some People Can Still Get COVID Stimulus Cash—Here’s How

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington, on Oct. 16, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has revealed that some Americans who were eligible to receive pandemic-era stimulus checks didn’t apply for them—and that there’s a way they can still claim the money.

The IRS said in a Nov. 17 announcement that, according to its records, some eligible individuals and families didn’t end up collecting economic impact payments—also known as stimulus payments or stimulus checks—that were issued in 2020 and 2021.

Those who missed out can still collect the money. The way to do so is through the “recovery rebate credit.”

This is a refundable credit that either reduces the amount of taxes owed, is included in a tax refund, or is simply paid out by the IRS to eligible taxpayers if—after claiming the credit—it turns out they overpaid on their taxes.

The deadline to claim the 2020 credit is May 17, 2024, while the one for claiming the 2021 credit is April 15, 2025.

In 2020 and 2021, the federal government issued $931 billion in stimulus payments to Americans in order to help ease the financial stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some people never received those payments, even though they were eligible.

Who Is Eligible?

While the vast majority of those eligible for COVID-19-related relief have already received or claimed it, some people haven’t—even though they’re entitled to it.

Others may have received less than the full stimulus payment they were entitled to, and in their case, claiming a recovery rebate credit would top-up to the full stimulus payment amount they’re entitled to.

In order to claim the 2020 and 2021 recovery rebate credits, a taxpayer must meet several criteria.

For the 2020 credit, they must have been a citizen of the United States or a U.S. resident alien in 2020. Also, they must not have been a dependent of another taxpayer for 2020 and possess a valid Social Security number issued before the due date of the tax return that is valid for employment in the United States.

For the 2021 recovery rebate credit, eligibility criteria include being a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien in 2021, not being a dependent of another taxpayer for 2021, and having a Social Security number issued by the due date of the tax return.

Alternatively, for the 2021 credit, a person can claim a dependent with a Social Security number issued by the due date of the tax return or claim a dependent with an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number.

Also, it’s noteworthy that the 2020 recovery rebate credit can be claimed for someone who passed away in 2020, while both the 2020 and 2021 credits can be claimed for someone who passed away in 2021 or later.

How to Apply?

In order to claim the recovery rebate credit, taxpayers must first file a tax return—even if they didn’t have any income from a job, business or other source.

To claim the 2020 recovery rebate credit, individuals must file a tax return (or amend one already filed) for the 2020 tax year. The deadline to do so is May 17, 2024.

For the 2021 recovery rebate credit, the deadline for filing (or amending) a tax return is April 15, 2025.

People who filed tax returns for 2020 or 2021 and didn’t claim the credit must file an Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040-X, in order to claim the recovery rebate credit.

In order to figure the amount of the recovery rebate credit on a tax return, it’s necessary to know the amount of any stimulus payments received (if any), including plus-up payments.

People can use their IRS Online Account to see if they received any stimulus payments and, if they did, how much they received.

Some people received partial stimulus payments for the 2020 and 2021 tax years, and this will reduce the amount they’re now eligible to collect as part of the recovery rebate credit.

More details about how to calculate the credit for a 2020 tax return can be found here, while further information about calculating the credit for a 2021 tax return is here.

One thing to note is that money received as part of the recovery rebate credit can’t be counted as income when determining the ability of someone to be eligible for federal benefits like Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that people who don’t normally file tax returns, first-time filers, mixed immigrant status families, and those experiencing homelessness were among the most likely to have missed getting stimulus payments.