U.S. taxpayers may be in line to receive a stimulus check by the end of January if they did not claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax return, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.
The IRS said the decision came about after reviewing internal data which showed eligible taxpayers who filed a return did not claim the credit. The Recovery Rebate Credit is a “refundable credit for individuals who did not receive one or more Economic Impact Payments (EIP), also known as stimulus payments,” according to the IRS.
“Looking at our internal data, we realized that one million taxpayers overlooked claiming this complex credit when they were actually eligible,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a news release.
“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.”
According to the IRS, eligible taxpayers do not need to do anything to receive the stimulus payments, which went out automatically in December and should arrive by late January this year.
Taxpayers will receive the payments either by direct deposit or paper check, the IRS said.
Eligible taxpayers will receive a separate letter notifying them of the incoming stimulus payment.
In addition to the notification letters, taxpayers can also look back at their 2021 tax returns and see if they left the Recover Rebate Credit field blank or filled it out as $0.
Stimulus payments will vary, but the maximum amount an eligible taxpayer could receive is $1,400, according to the IRS.
The total estimated amount being dispersed nationwide is $2.4 billion, the revenue service said.
Those who did not file a 2021 tax return could still be eligible to receive the stimulus check if they file their 2021 return and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit by April 15, 2025, the IRS said.
“Eligible taxpayers who did not file must file a tax return to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit, even if their income from a job, business or other source was minimal or non-existent,” according to the IRS.
