The IRS continues to send out the third stimulus check to Americans, even as it has also increased the number of catch-up payments. And the numbers are set to increase in the coming months. more than $384 billion has been paid through 163 million payments starting from the middle of March 2021.
These follow-up payments have been sent to individuals and families who have already received the third stimulus check but are owed more. This difference in the initial calculation was due to the tax season dates clashing with the payout of the stimulus checks. Many of the initial payments were based on the 2019 returns submitted in 2020.
People subsequently submitted the tax returns for 2020. This led to a fresh round of calculation and many Americans who had seen a drop in income or had lost their jobs in comparison to the previous year were owed more as stimulus payments.
Secondly, families that welcomed a child in 2020 will also receive a plus-up check for the additional dependent. Changes in the dependents rule also made more people eligible to be counted as dependents. They are now eligible for the $1,400 stimulus payments.
Delays In Payment Of The Stimulus Check
The overlapping processes have delayed the whole process. The IRS has to deal with processing the fresh returns that have seen an upsurge as the extended filing deadline looms. They are yet to get through the tax return backlog of 2019.
Filing tax returns much before the deadline on May 17 will be prudent as it will help get the catch-up stimulus payments earlier. Any pending amount of the first and second stimulus checks can also be recovered if one claims the Recovery Rebate Credit on the 2020 tax returns.
The ‘Where’s My Refund’ tool of the IRS can help people get updated on their refund position. The site is updated within one day of filing online. But those who have filed paper returns will be kept waiting for nearly 4 weeks before they get updates.
