My Stimulus Check Was Stolen What Can I Do

All You Need To Know Is Yourself

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The above article is intended to provide generalized financial information designed to educate a broad segment of the public it does not give personalized tax, investment, legal, or other business and professional advice. Before taking any action, you should always seek the assistance of a professional who knows your particular situation for advice on taxes, your investments, the law, or any other business and professional matters that affect you and/or your business.

My Payment Went To A Bank Account That Was Closed Now What

Now, its a waiting game. The IRS has to mail a payment to the address it has on file for you, if the bank rejected the deposit. If an account is closed or was invalid, the bank will reject the deposit.

Typically, once the payment is mailed, it will take up to 14 days to receive the payment, standard mailing time, the IRS said.

Some direct deposit efforts ran into a glitch since some bank accounts on file were temporary setups that were used by tax preparers as part of a tax refund process and those accounts are no longer active.

If your address changed, you may need to go through the process of changing it on file with the IRS. One way to do so is by filing Form 8822, Change of Address.

Where Does The Irs Send Notice 1444

The IRS mails Notice 1444 to the recipients last known address within 15 days of payment. This is almost always the address you used on the last income tax return you filed.

If you move, the IRS does have a form to submit your address change. However, most people dont even know this exists. The IRS just gets their new address when they file their first tax return from their new home.

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Eip Debit Card Or Stimulus Check Payment Gets Stolen

Unfortunately, circumstances where your stimulus money was properly delivered but stolen directly from your mailbox are also possible. Note that when receiving your stimulus check or EIP card, the letter should have a US Department of the Treasury seal. If you do not see the seal, someone might have replaced your money with a dummy.

If you simply misplaced the EIP card, you can try calling 800-240-8100 and request a replacement.

However, if you suspect that money is really stolen by a package thief or through an identity thief, you can inform both the FTC and IRS by visiting IdentityTheft.gov. Both agencies will give you a personal recovery plan for your money and provide steps to protect yourself from any similar attempts.

What If I Threw Away A Card Loaded With Stimulus Money

Fortunately, the IRS said you dont need to know the number on that card to request a replacement. You can call 800-240-8100 .

Once you get that card, its possible to transfer it to a bank account if you want.

The new limit for electronic transfers to your bank account is $2,500 per transaction up from a previously announced $1,000. See EIPcard.com to review the process. Transfers should post to your bank account in one to two business days.

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Write A Letter Of Explanation

If your expired IRS refund check or expired stimulus check is more than a year old, youll need to write a short letter to the IRS that includes the statement Return of expired check because . . . and explain that you are returning the check because it has expired. Note the check number and issue date in your letter.

Request that the IRS reissue the check and send a replacement check to you. Include your current mailing address and telephone number.

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How To Check Your Refund Status

If you havenât received your tax refund yet, you can check its status in two ways:

• Use the IRSâ Wheres My Refund? tool online

To check your refundâs status, you will need to enter your Social Security number or ITIN, your filing status, and your exact refund amount.

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Your refund status should be available 24 hours after you e-file your tax return, or about four weeks after you mailed your return. The IRS advises taxpayers not to call about refunds unless that amount of time has passed.

Keep in mind that the IRS canât share your tax information with anyone other than you, unless you have authorized the IRS to do so. This authorization must be given on your federal tax return when you file it, or by completing Form 8821.

Looking for your coronavirus stimulus check? Learn more about the stimulus checks.

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How Much Does It Cost To Get A Rush Card

Find details and conditions for all fees and services in the cardholder agreement. RushCard ® Prepaid Visa ® Card is issued by MetaBank ®, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Card is serviced by Green Dot Corporation. A one-time fee of $3.95 or $9.95, depending on the plastic design you request for your Card.

What To Do If Your Stimulus Check Is Missing

The following instructions only apply if youve gotten confirmation that your payment has been sent, either from the Get My Payment tracker or through Notice 1444 in the mail .

If you arent sure whether youre eligible for a payment or if you need to take action to get one , check out this IRS FAQ.

If you havent been able to confirm that your payment has been sent using Get My Payment, try these nine hacks for tracking your check.

However, if you have confirmed that your payment has been sent and you still havent received it, youll need to initiate what the IRS calls a trace on your payment. But wait! You may need to give the IRS more time, especially if youre getting a paper check. You should only initiate a trace in the following situations:

• Direct deposits: More than five days have passed since the scheduled delivery.
• Paper checks: The check was mailed more than four weeks ago.
• Paper checks with a forwarding address: The check was mailed more than six weeks ago.
• Paper checks with a foreign address: The check was mailed more than nine weeks ago.

Keep in mind that if your check was sent to a bank account youve closed, the bank will reject the deposit and return it to the IRS. The IRS will usually process a paper check for you within two weeks, so you probably dont need to take further action.

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First Things First Request A Payment Trace

Alright, so you still havent received your stimulus check. While this can be extremely frustrating, there is a way to make sure you get the money. The first thing you need to do is to see whether or not your check has been sent to you. To do so, youll need to go to the Get My Payment tool on the IRS website.

You will need to input your Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, date of birth, and street address on file, so make sure to have all of that on hand.

Once youve been admitted, the tool will show you when your payment was issued. If you have received notice that your payment was sent, you can request the IRS do a payment trace.

However, you will have to wait for a certain amount of time to pass before requesting a trace.

In fact, you need to wait five days after a direct deposit was made, four weeks after a check was mailed, or six weeks if you have a forwarding address. Make sure to double-check your online banking statements to see if you may have missed the deposit and dont haphazardly through mail away! Though the holiday season was about a month ago, some mail is still seriously delayed.

My Economic Impact Payment Card Was Lost Or Stolen What Should I Do

Based on information from MetaBank® , if you have misplaced your EIP Card, you can lock it by logging in online at EIPCard.com. If your Card is permanently lost, it is important that you call Customer Service at to report your lost or stolen Card immediately.

If your card is lost, call the Customer Service line at . Select the Lost/Stolen option.

Your EIP card will be deactivated to prevent anyone from using it and a new replacement Card will be ordered. Your first reissued Card will be free. A $7.50 fee will be applied for each additional reissued Card.

Review the materials included with your card or see the Cardholder Agreement online at EIPCard.com for more information.

For Cards with more than one name, only the primary Cardholder must make the call. In a few instances, the first name of one payee is linked to the last name of a second payee on the Card. For mismatched names, the payee with the first name on the first line may should make the call.

Last Reviewed: April 2021

Please note: The terms “bank” and “banks” used in these answers generally refer to national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches or agencies of foreign banking organizations that are regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency . Find out if the OCC regulates your bank. Information provided on HelpWithMyBank.gov should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion of the OCC.

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Eligibility For A ‘plus

You can estimate how much money the IRS owes your household for the third stimulus check. Just make sure to triple-check that you meet the qualifications, including the income limits.

Because of the overlap with tax season 2020, many people may receive some, but not all, of their allotted amount. If your income changed in 2020, in some cases, the IRS may owe you more money than you received if the income figure used to calculate your payment from your tax returns in 2018 or 2019 is less in 2020. Likewise, if you now have a new dependent, such as a new baby, you may be owed more money.

The IRS is automatically sending “plus-up payments” to make up the difference. If you don’t get one, you may need to claim the missing money another way later in 2021 or even in 2022, since tax season is officially over now.

When Will I Get My Money

With Biden having signed the legislation on March 11, 2021, payments could begin going out as soon as the week of March 15.

Taking a more conservative approach, using the IRS timeline for the second round of stimulus checks as a guide, direct deposit payments could begin as soon as March 22, 2021, for those who previously received their second stimulus check.

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You Might Want To Start Paying Closer Attention To Your Junk Mail

Economic impact payments , better known as stimulus checks, began going out to qualifying individuals and families months ago to help them through the COVID-19 pandemic, but some people still haven’t gotten theirs yet. The government was supposed to send paper checks to those it didn’t have bank account information for, but some of these individuals received prepaid debit cards instead. And that’s where the trouble starts.

These debit cards don’t bear any outward sign that they come from the federal government, and the envelopes they arrive in are plain, presumably to deter thieves from identifying and stealing them as easily. But if you’re not reading your mail carefully, it’s all too easy to assume it’s just another piece of junk mail and throw it away.

If you do this, you will probably have to wait a little longer to get your stimulus money, but you can still get it. Here’s what you need to know about how to recognize your stimulus check if it comes as a debit card and what to do if you’re afraid you may have accidentally thrown yours away.

Did An Id Thief Steal Your Stimulus Payment Report It To Us

Do you think your economic impact payment has landed in the hands of an identity thief? You can report it to the FTC and the IRS at the same time. Heres what to do.

Visit IdentityTheft.gov, the governments one-stop resource for people to report identity theft and get a personal recovery plan. Click Get started. The next page asks, Which statement best describes our situation? Click the line that says, Someone filed a Federal tax return or claimed an economic stimulus payment using my information. Youre on your way.

IdentityTheft.gov will ask you some questions so that it can complete an IRS Identity Theft Affidavit for you, and submit it electronically to the IRS. You can include a personal statement too, to tell the IRS details about how your identity was misused to claim your economic impact payment. You also can download a copy of your completed Affidavit for your files. And, IdentityTheft.gov also will give you a recovery plan with steps you can take to help protect yourself from further identity theft.

Use IdentityTheft.gov to report suspected identity theft only. If you have other concerns about your economic impact payment, visit the IRSs Economic Impact Payment Information Center and Get My Payment Frequently Asked Questions pages for detailed, and frequently-updated, answers to questions. You also can find information here about payments that the IRS may have deposited to an account you dont recognize.

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Why Havent I Gotten My Money Yet

Here are some common reasons why you may not have gotten your payment yet:

• The IRS does not have your current address on file

• The IRS does not have current banking/direct deposit information

• The IRS does not know you or your dependents qualify because they have no records for you

• Someone else claimed you or your children as a dependent

• You have a designated payee

Whats The Recovery Rebate Credit

The Recovery Rebate Credit is in place for individuals who were eligible to receive stimulus checks but didnt receive one or both. The Recovery Rebate Credit is authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and the COVID-related Tax Relief Act. It is a tax credit against your 2020 income tax. Generally, this credit will increase the amount of your tax refund or decrease the amount of the tax you owe, the IRS explained on its website.

The Recovery Rebate Credit was eligible to be paid in two rounds of advance payments during 2020 and early 2021. These advanced payments of the Recovery Rebate Credit are referred to as the first and second Economic Impact Payments.

So, it is essential for those who are filing taxes this year to make sure to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2020 Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

You must file Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit even if you are normally not required to file a tax return. Anyone with income of $72,000 or less can file their Federal tax return electronically for free through the IRS Free File Program.

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How To Complete Irs Payment Trace Form 3911

To request your payment trace, you will need to provide information using Form 3911:

• Your name, address, phone, and identification number
• Payment type
• Information about the payment, whether it was lost, stolen, or destroyed
• Any correspondence received from the IRS concerning the payment
• Your bank account information

The form requires you to sign under penalty of perjury, certifying the information provided is accurate. You will also need to include a check description, such as the refund date and the payment amount.

For missing economic impact payments, you may need to take a few extra steps. The IRS requires you to write EIP followed by the number 1, 2, or 3, identifying the round of stimulus payments you want to trace.

Once you have completed the form, mail it to the IRS address where you would file paper tax returns.

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Send To Irs Mailing Address

Look on the front of the Treasury check to find the name of the city that determines the appropriate IRS mailing address. The name of a city, or its abbreviation, should be printed at the bottom of the check in front of the words, TAX REFUND. If the Treasury check is for a purpose other than tax refund, note that in your letter.

The IRS document, Topic 161 Returning an Erroneous Refund Paper Check or Direct Deposit located on the agencys website, lists the nine city names and the corresponding mailing addresses. You may also call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040, and ask for the correct mailing address for returning the expired check.

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