During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government enacted legislation that distributed up to three rounds of stimulus checks to qualified individuals. If you missed these payments due to not filing a tax return in 2021, you may still be eligible for one of them.
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In 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act, introduced by former President Joe Biden, offered stimulus payments of up to $1,400 per eligible individual, inclusive of dependents. For instance, a family of four could have been eligible for a total of $5,600 in stimulus payments.
However, some taxpayers did not receive these payments due to errors in claiming the credits on their tax returns. To address this, the IRS announced in December 2024 that it would automatically distribute payments to 1 million taxpayers who were entitled to receive them but didn’t due to filing mistakes. Still, this does not encompass everyone who might have been eligible but failed to file a return.
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Fortunately, there remains a limited timeframe to file your taxes for the year 2021 and to request this payment. The deadline is Tax Day, April 15, 2025.
To qualify for this stimulus check, you must not have already received the Third Economic Impact Payment as part of the government’s coronavirus relief efforts. Additionally, your adjusted gross income (AGI) for the 2021 tax year plays a crucial role in determining eligibility.
For full eligibility of $1,400 per individual and qualifying dependent, your AGI needs to be $75,000 or below for individuals or $150,000 or below for married couples filing jointly. The payment begins to reduce for higher incomes, with no payments awarded to those whose AGI is $80,000 or more for individuals or $160,000 or more for married couples filing jointly.
If you believe you are eligible but have not received the payment, you likely did not file a tax return in 2021. Even if you had no income and typically do not file taxes, it is essential to do so if you want to claim this stimulus check.
You can verify if you have received this payment by logging in or creating an account on the IRS website. Once logged in, navigate to the Tax Records page and check the “Economic Impact Payment Information” section to see if you received any payments from the three rounds of economic impact payments — while it’s too late to claim the first two, you can still request the third.
