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IRS stimulus check good news: This is the deadline by which a million Americans will receive the automatic $1,400 payment

The Internal Revenue Service uncovered a million taxpayers who never received their $1,400 stimulus in 2021. Good news for them, payments are on their way.

IRS says $1,400 may be coming your way

Filing a tax return can be a complicated process, especially when tax laws change or, as during the covid-19 pandemic, special programs are suddenly put into place. In the case of the latter, the federal government approved three rounds of Economic Impact Payments (EIPs), also known as stimulus checks. Two of those corresponded to 2020 and the third to 2021.

Most taxpayers received their stimulus checks automatically from the Internal Revenue Service not long after they were approved since they were advance tax credits to taxpayers for the fiscal year in which they were approved. However, the IRS didn’t have data on file for every American that was eligible to get one, generally because those people hadn’t filed a tax return in 2019 or were new taxpayers.

Fortunately, they could claim the tax credit when they filed a tax return for the fiscal year to which the stimulu payments corresponded. Unfortunately, for those who didn’t claim the stimulus money on their tax returns through the Recovery Rebate Credit, they never saw the money. Good news though the IRS is trying to remedy the situation and has begun sending out payments to those who were eligible but failed to claim the credit.

$1,400 stimulus checks should arrive by the end of January

The IRS announced in December that after a review of its records a million taxpayers had funds from the third EIP due to them worth a total sum of around $2.4 billion. While they were eligible for the up to $1,400 that was approved for every American man, woman and child that met the requirements those taxpayers overlooked claiming it.

If you filed a 2021 tax return and failed to claim the stimulus payment through the Recovery Rebate Credit, then there is no need to do anything. “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,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.

Most of the payments are expected to be in bank accounts by the end of January for those who use direct deposit with the IRS. Otherwise they will be sent as paper checks which may take slightly longer to arrive.

However, if you didn’t file a tax return for the 2021 fiscal year, there is still time to claim money if you meet the eligibility requirements, but you had better hurry. The deadline to file a 2021 tax return and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit is April 15, 2025. “The payments vary depending on several factors, but the maximum payment is $1,400 per individual,” states the IRS.

You may also be able to claim other tax credits for that year if you meet the eligibility requirements like the expanded Child Tax Credit if you had a child, or children, 17 or younger at the end of 2021.

How can I find out if I’ll receive a $1,400 stimulus check from the IRS?

A quick way that you can check if you are one of the people who should be expecting one of the automatic $1,400 checks from the IRS is to go back and check your 2021 tax return. The IRS advises to “keep records for 3 years from the date you filed your original return or 2 years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later, if you file a claim for credit or refund after you file your return.”

You can also check your tax records online with your ID.me account. If you don’t have one, it may be something you should think about doing. You can not only check tax records, but it can also be used for accessing Social Security information, and can help protect your digital identity across multiple websites to help ensure that nobody is pretending to be you online.

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