Still Haven’t Gotten Your Stimulus Check? Here’s What to Do.

February
19, 2021

3 min read

This story originally appeared on ValueWalk

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced this week that it had sent out all the coronavirus stimulus checks approved last year. Some eligible people may have still not received their direct payment. Such people either need to wait as their checks could be in transit, or they need to claim their payment when they file their 2020 taxes.

IRS says it sent all coronavirus stimulus checks

Earlier this week, the agency announced that it had issued all the first and second round of payments. As per the agency, it issued 160 million payments in the first round, totaling $270 billion. In the first round, the coronavirus stimulus checks of up to $1,200 started going out in April.

In the second round, which included stimulus checks of up to $600, the agency said it distributed over 147 million checks totaling about $142 billion. For the second stimulus check, which started going out earlier this year, the IRS was required by law to send all the payments by Jan. 15.

The IRS said it had delivered all the payments on the basis of details it has on file. However, the agency noted that some checks could still be in the mail. Also, the agency said that about 13 million checks were sent to bank accounts and addresses that are not valid, and thus, had to be redirected.

How to claim your missing payment

Those who haven’t yet received the payment should wait for a few days as the agency has said that some payments could still be in the mail. So, don’t forget to check your mail box regularly. If you believe you have waited long enough, then the only way to get the payment is to claim it as a credit at the time of filing your 2020 taxes.

If you got the payment, but believe you were eligible for more, then also you need to claim it as a credit. Even those who don’t usually file taxes, such as people getting Social Security or disability benefits, need to file 2020 taxes to claim their payment.

Taxpayers need to claim the payment as the Recovery Rebate Credit. The form to claim this credit is available on line 30 of the 2020 tax Form 1040 or 1040-SR. To claim the credit, you should know how much payment you were supposed to get, and how much payment you got. You need to visit your IRS online account to know the payment you got in the first and second round.

To avoid delay in getting the credit, the IRS is asking users to file their return electronically. Those earning $72,000 or less can use the IRS Free File Program to file their tax return electronically for free.