I Haven’t Gotten My Stimulus Check Yet

First And Second Stimulus Check

You will need to file a tax return for Tax Year 2020 . The deadline to file your taxes this year was May 17, 2021. The tax filing extension deadline is October 15, 2021.

If you missed the filing deadline, you can still file your tax return to get your first and second stimulus checks. If you dont owe taxes, there is no penalty for filing late. If you owe taxes, you may be subject to penalties and fines for not filing or not paying taxes. The government may reduce your tax refund to pay for any taxes you owe and other federal and state debts.

To learn more about your options if you think you owe taxes, read Filing Past Due Tax Returns and What to Do if I Owe Taxes but Cant Pay Them.

Why Havent I Got My Stimulus Check Yet

• 11:04 ET, Sep 14 2021

THREE stimulus checks have been sent out to eligible Americans but some have yet to receive payments.

Here are the details of the payment rounds and what you should do if you are due lost cash.

What do I do if I am missing a stimulus check?

If you are eligible for payments and you think you are missing money, the IRS encourages you to contact the agency.

Americans can check the status of their stimulus check on the Get My Payment app.

“There is a small number of people who have not received their stimulus payments,” IRS spokesperson said.

“We ask that they be patient with us and also be persistent in contacting us.”

For questions regarding your stimulus status, the IRS asks you to contact -800-919-9835 – but filling out the Rebate Recovery Credit form with your 2020 taxes should still be a priority.

Stimulus Checks Can Be Helpful If You Get Them Technical Glitches Still Abound

There are a whole host of other reasons why you might not have received your stimulus check yet. The tools that the IRS is giving us in order to make the process simpler arent always working either due to high volume, data inaccuracies or because there are glitches.

The #IRS Get My Payment tool is operating at record volumes. So far, 9.8M people got an Economic Impact Payment status and 1.6M provided direct deposit info. In some situations, the app responds: Status Not Available. Learn what this means at

Your best bet if youre getting errors on the site is to keep trying and look for guidance from the IRS on next steps.

While we cant control a lot of those issues, you can make sure that youre informed, and that you know what youre eligible to receive.

Make sure to head on over to all of our stimulus check content, and read up on all the details.

Confirm youre eligible and make sure there isnt some other reason why youre not getting a check.

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Keep An Eye On Your Bank Account And Mail

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said last week that direct deposit payments would continue into this week. The official payment date for those direct deposit payments is Jan. 4, according to the IRS.

If you received your first stimulus payment via direct deposit, that is likely how youll receive the secondbut it isnt a guarantee. If the information the IRS has on file for you has changed, for example, you can probably expect a mailed payment this time around . In general, the IRS and Treasury urge those who dont get their payment via direct deposit by early January to watch their mail carefullyeven if you think you should have gotten your payment by direct deposit.

If youre expecting your payment in the mailwhich will come in the form of a check or debit cardyoull likely have to wait a bit longer to receive it. The cutoff date for the IRS to issue payments is Jan. 15, according to the text of the most recent coronavirus relief package. Last week, the IRS said that paper checks would start to be mailed on Dec. 30, but that deadline indicates that yours might not be in the mail until mid-January.

You can also use the Get My Payment tool to track stimulus payments. The tool will tell you if your payment was sent, and in what form . If it says Payment Status Not Available, you were either not eligible, or the IRS wasnt able to issue the second payment, so youll need to claim it when you file your taxes.

Where’s My Stimulus Check

The first stimulus check recipients saw their payments show up in their bank accounts in mid-April. But some people who are also eligible for stimulus checks have not received their money, and they’re puzzled about why that is â and are perhaps in a panic over whether their coronavirus payment is coming at all.

Here are some of the possibilities why you might not have gotten a stimulus payment yet:

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Your Payment Hasnt Been Processed Yet

If you havent received a direct deposit or physical payment and the IRS Get My Payment Tool says Payment status not available, dont panic.

On that same page it should also state that If you get this message, either we have not yet processed your payment, or you are not eligible for a payment.

The eligibility requirements have changed from the last two rounds of payments, so pay attention to the new numbers to make sure you actually qualify this time around.

If the message you get from the Get My Payment Tool says Need more information, then your payment was returned to the IRS because it was unable to be delivered. In this case only, people who get this message can use Get My Payment to enter their correct bank account information. For direct deposit, this includes the name of your bank, your bank account number and your routing number. Do not try to contact the IRS via phone to provide bank information.

Know that the IRS only updates the Get My Payment Tool information once per day, typically overnight, so refreshing throughout the day wont yield any new information.

When You’ll Receive Your Payment

The final date to qualify has already passed for filers other than those with pending ITINs. If you have already filed, you don’t have to do anything.

If you have not received a payment by now, you will most likely receive a paper check. In addition, if you did not receive a refund with your tax return or owed money at the time of filing, you will receive a paper check.

Payments will go out based on the last 3 digits of the ZIP code on your 2020 tax return. Some payments may need extra time to process for accuracy and completeness. If your tax return is processed during or after the date of your scheduled ZIP code payment, allow up to 60 days after your return has processed. Please allow up to three weeks to receive the paper checks once they are mailed out.

Also Check: Second Stimulus Checks Tax Return Irs

Request A Payment Trace

After you receive your stimulus payment, you should also get a notice from the IRS in the mail which says the amount you were paid. If you receive this notice, but havent gotten your stimulus payment, its possible that it was lost or stolen.

In this case, you can start a trace by contacting the IRS. If the check wasnt cashed, youll receive a replacement, and if it was cashed, you will have to file a claim with the Bureau of the Fiscal Service youll receive instructions on how to do this. Keep in mind that you need to wait until a certain amount of time has passed to start a trace, like four weeks if the payment was mailed, or six weeks if it was mailed but you have a forwarding address on file with your post office.

What Else Is Included In Bidens Stimulus Package

Like we talked about before, the presidents American Rescue Plan is full of big changes. It includes some of the proposals Biden campaigned on. Heres a quick rundown:

• Increase the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 for dependents under the age of 17 to $3,000 for children ages 617 and $3,600 for children under age 6.
• Increase the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit from a max of 35% of qualifying childcare expenses to a max of 50% of qualifying expenses .
• Keep weekly unemployment benefit payments under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program at $300 and extend benefits under the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program through September.
• Extend the payment relief for federally guaranteed mortgages as well as the suspension on evictions and foreclosures until September.
• Provide financial support for renters and landlords.14, 15

And theres more: Bidens plan also includes grants and loans for small businesses, aid to state and local governments, money for COVID-19 vaccine distribution and testing, money to reopen schools, support for colleges and childcare providers, and more paid sick time for folks who have COVID-19, are quarantining because of it, or are caring for family members who are sick.16

Also Check: When Are Stimulus Checks Coming

Claim It On Your 2020 Taxes

The IRS just announced that it would begin processing 2020 tax returns on Feb. 12. If you are due a stimulus check but haven’t received the money by the time you file, claim it on your return. Line 30 on the 1040 tax form allows you to let the IRS know that you didn’t receive your funds.

If you’re owed a refund on 2020 taxes, the IRS will add the stimulus money to the amount you’re due to receive. If you owe money on 2020 taxes, the IRS will subtract the stimulus money from the amount you need to pay. For example, if you’re due $1,200 in stimulus funds but owe $1,500, the IRS will keep the $1,200 as a payment toward your total tax bill, and you will owe $300.

When Will I Get The Recovery Rebate Credit

You will most likely get the Recovery Rebate Credit as part of your tax refunds. If you electronically file your tax return, you will likely receive your refund within 3 weeks. If you mail your return, it can take at least 8 weeks to receive your refund.

Claiming the Recovery Rebate Credit will not delay your tax refund. However, if you dont claim the correct amount of the Recovery Rebate Credit, your refund may be delayed while the IRS corrects the error on your return. The IRS will send you a notice of any changes made to your return.

You can check on the status of your refund using the IRS Check My Refund Status tool.

Read Also: Why Did I Only Get $600 Stimulus

The Irs Doesn’t Have Your Direct Deposit Info

The fastest way to get your stimulus check is via bank direct deposit from the IRS. If the IRS doesn’t have your direct deposit info on file, you can still get paid, but it’ll come via paper check â and getting a check in the mail could delay your payment by weeks or even months. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told CNN that it was his idea that paper check stimulus payments have President Donald Trump’s signature on them, and that reports saying that the signature would add further delay to the arrival of paper checks is incorrect.

“The checks have not gone out yet,” Mnuchin said to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, April 19, “and the reason they have not gone out yet is that we’re hoping that more people, as I said, will go to IRS.gov. It’s much safer to send out direct deposits.”

Most taxpayers provide the IRS with their bank account details, for the purposes of making a payment or receiving a tax refund. If the agency does not have your direct deposit details, you can provide the IRS with that information at the Get My Payment appâ which also lets you track the status of your check. However, the last day to give your direct deposit info to the IRS was May 13 if you missed the deadline, are eligible, and haven’t received your payment already, it will come as a paper check. You can still use the Get My Payment app to reveal how you will receive your payment , and give a scheduled arrival date, if the payment has been processed.

What If I Never Got The 1st Or 2nd Stimulus Checks

If you’re missing a first or second stimulus check but believe you qualify, then you can claim the money on your 2020 tax return . The payments are worth up to $1,200 and $600 per person, respectively.

When you prepare your tax return, you’ll be asked to report the total Economic Impact Payment received to date.

There will be a separate worksheet on your tax return with instructions for calculating any outstanding amount owed to you, if anything. If you file your taxes using online software, the provider will prompt you to enter the required information and do the calculations for you.

The IRS advises filers to only fill out this portion of their return if they received less than the maximum payment amount.

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You Receive Social Security Benefits Or You Dont Typically File Taxes

If you receive Social Security Benefits, or dont earn enough income to file taxes, the IRS experienced a delay in validating your eligibility for the third stimulus payment. The IRS had to wait to receive information from the Social Security Administration before it could review and verify if you qualified for a payment, and for how much.

After receiving the SSA information on March 25, the IRS announced on March 30 that most, if not all, of the Social Security recipients and other federal beneficiaries who do not normally file a tax return and are eligible for a stimulus check, should receive their payments electronically on or around April 7.

This includes those who receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability , Supplemental Security Income , and Railroad Retirement Board recipients who did not file a 2019 or 2020 tax return or did not use the Non-Filers tool

The IRS announcement also stated that the Get My Payment tool will be updated to reflect this change on the weekend of April 3-4 for those that are expecting to receive their payments by April 7.

Havent Received Your Stimulus Check Yet Heres How To Check Your Status

Jeff Fusco/Getty Stimulus checks

It’s a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and millions of Americans are just days away from receiving a third stimulus payment while some already have.

Payments of about $1,400 are coming following the passing of a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill from President Joe Biden last week. The new checks follow previous payments of $1,200 and $600, which millions of Americans received in the past year.

Those who want to check on the status of their payment can visit the IRS'”Get My Payment” tool, which was set up during the first round of checks last year.

Upon clicking the “Get My Payment” button, users will be asked to enter their social security number or individual tax number, their birthday and their address.

At that point, they should be redirected to a page that says “Payment Status,” which will let users know when they should expect their money.

If for some reason a pop-up appears that reads “Payment Status Not Available,” that means one of three things: the IRS has not yet processed the payment, the IRS does not have enough information to issue the user a payment, or the user is not eligible for a payment.

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Anyone making less than $75,000 per year, or couples making less than $150,000 combined, are eligible to receive full payments of $1,400.

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I Had A Problem With The First Or Second Payment

Some individuals had too much income in 2019 to qualify for the first or second stimulus payment , but their income decreased enough in 2020 for them to qualify. If you fall into this category, you can file a tax return for your 2020 taxes and you’ll receive a recovery rebate credit as part of your refund .

In other cases, families received stimulus payments by direct deposit but the IRS neglected to add money for one or more of their children. Sometimes there didn’t seem to be a reason for this . For other families, it seems the IRS did not update the number of children that taxpayers have, even for families who claimed new children on their 2019 tax returns. You’ll be able to claim the rest of the stimulus payment when you file your next tax return.

I Think I Got Paid Too Much Will I Have To Return My Stimulus Payment

During the first and second rounds of payment, if your stimulus amount was too much based on your income, you did not have to pay back the difference. That is likely to be the case for this round of payments as well.

If you received a payment in errorfor instance, for someone who died in 2020the IRS offers instructions for returning a payment.

Read Also: When Does The Next Stimulus Check Come In