The IRS sent out a fresh round of stimulus checks under the American Rescue Plan. And if you’re expecting your first check, or reckon that you deserve some more, here’s how you can track it.
A total of 1M checks is on their way. The total amount being sent out adds up to $1.8B. That makes it 165M payments to date starting the second week of March. But this isn’t the last of the payments. The IRS has said that they will carry on sending out more checks every week. And this includes plus-up checks to those who were paid less in the first round.
May 17 is the extended deadline for filing your tax returns. So in addition to the stimulus checks and the plus-up payments, you can also look forward to a refund from the IRS, if there are any.
The stimulus payments will be followed by a letter signed by the President. It contains vital information on the ongoing payments. Be sure to preserve it. Cause that will be the basis of all future returns.
You also need to keep regular track of your payments. Use the ‘Get My Payment’ tracker to stay in the loop for all payments coming from the IRS.
If there are kids at home, you also need to keep an eye on the child tax credit check due to start in July. Half of the $3,600 max will be paid by December 2021. The rest you can expect as a refund in 2022.
Break Up Of The Stimulus Checks Going Out This Week
You could be one of the 960,000 recipients whose stimulus check has gone out this week. Or your name may be on the list of those receiving their plus-up checks. Around 460,000 of such follow-up payments will give more than $800 million to Americans affected by the economic downturn following the pandemic.
The plus-up payments are necessary to square up the money due to many Americans as the initial checks were sent based on old inputs or the tax returns from 2019. So if you had a loss of income in 2020, you could have gotten less than the amount that was due. Another reason could be the birth of a child in the home; that would be missing from the records of the IRS.
So as the IRS recalculates your stimulus payments based on your fresh returns for 2020, you may be owed more than you received initially. Hence the catch-up stimulus checks.
The IRS automatically calculates the stimulus amount based on the latest information submitted by you. But you might want to calculate the amount you are owed. There are many online tools for just that.
The Timelines And Schedules Of The IRS Till December 2021
The IRS automatically calculates your stimulus check amount based on the facts that you have provided to them and the US dept. Of Treasury.
Just this week, more than 500,000 stimulus payments went out for people who have recently submitted their tax returns for the year 2020. And the IRS has till December 2021 for sending out the last of the checks.
This will make it easier for the IRS to pace out their dispatches. They will have the time to send out the plus-up payments, as many of the initial stimulus checks were based on the 2019 returns.
Many people did not get their stimulus payments because the IRS did not have their correct mailing address, or their bank details were incorrect.
If you do not receive your stimulus checks by December 2021, you can still get them through the Recovery Rebate Credit filed along with your returns in 2022.
But if you are owed any amount from the initial two checks, you will have to claim it through the same process of the RRC, by filing your 2020 returns before the May 17 deadline.
The Breakup Of The Third Stimulus Payments
There have been 9 rounds of payments sent out by the URS to date, starting with the first payment on March 17. Payments are being sent out every week without any gaps.
Most payments were sent out as direct deposits into banks, around 80% of the total. The rest were sent out in the form of paper checks and prepaid debit cards through the US postal service. A part of the payments was sent out through EIP cards and Direct Express cards.
The plus-up payments were first sent out on April 7.
The “Get My Payment” Tracker Could Be Handy If You Haven’t Got Your Check
The IRS tracker will give you an update every day so you can be sure of the status of the payment. Though you will not know the amount being sent, you will be alerted if the IRS experiences any problem in either sending your stimulus check or in calculating the amount.
There is no status of your plus-up check in the IRS tracker. The free tracker of the Postal Service can help you to trace your mail regularly if your check or debit card has been sent through them.
The Letter From President Biden
A letter is sent by the IRS along with the stimulus payment. This letter contains all the details of the payment, including the payment mode and the amount. This Notice 1444-C proves that the IRS has sent you a payment.
So you can refer to the letter in the unlikely event of not receiving the payment. It is also useful as a reference point if you do not receive the full amount.
It’s High Time You Claimed Your Pending Amount From The Previous Stimulus Checks
While you are receiving your third stimulus payment or any catch-up payments, you might have missed out on previous payments. You should speed up to recover that as the May 17 deadline to claim such an amount is less than a week away.
Be sure to file your 2020 returns and claim any pending amount through the Recovery Rebate Credit method. Also include all your dependents, including any child born in 2020. Each of them could bring in an additional $1,400 and more by way of a child tax credit.
Do Not Bother Calling Up The IRS
Calling up the IRS will not help this time. If you missed out on the third stimulus payment, or find that you have received a lesser amount, you need to file a trace. This will help determine if your payment was returned due to the wrong address or the wrong account. You can act accordingly to claim it.
Rely On The Confirmation Mail To Claim Any Amount
Refer to the letter for any communication with the IRS. Though the IRS is sending out plus-up checks to correct any shortage in the initial check, you might still have to claim a part of the total amount.
The authorities are sure to open a window to allow claims before the December deadline. And you still have the 2022 tax season to claim the amount pending from the third stimulus check.
Reasons You Might Have Missed Out
There are several reasons you might have missed out on part of the stimulus check or the full amount.
The most obvious one is a calculation error. Your check could also be delayed by the postal service, as they are under a lot of additional pressure due to the payments. You might also have given the wrong bank details or the wrong mailing address. This would cause your payment to be returned.
You could also have missed out on declaring all your dependents and that will get you a wrong check.
There is also a chance that your check was garnished by some private debt collector. You need to contact your bank immediately and seek their advice.
The stimulus payment might also get delayed for a host of other reasons. People who live outside the US will get their stimulus check much later. Families with mixed-status citizenship will also be getting their first check. They need to get their status updated immediately. And finally, the social security beneficiaries and veterans had their checks delayed as the IRS received their files much later.
