Don’t worry if you haven’t received your first, second, or third stimulus check; you may still reclaim the payment as little more than a tax credit and receive the funds as part of your tax refund. The Recovery Rebate Credit, which is what stimulus payments really are, is a federal tax credit. To receive the Recovery Rebate Credit, you must file a tax return.
What Is the Procedure for Claiming the Recovering Rebate Credit on My Tax Return?
The Recovery Rebate Credit can be obtained by filing your taxes. Depending on the stimulus check you need, you’ll need to file a tax return. You can file your taxes for free at GetYourRefund.org, regardless of which taxes you need to file.
Checks for the First and Second Stimulus
For Tax Year 2020, you will be required to file a tax return (which you file in 2021). This year, the deadline to file your taxes was May 17, 2021. The deadline to file a tax extension was October 15, 2021.
You could still file your federal return to receive your first and second stimulus cheques if you missed the deadline. If you owe taxes, penalties and fines may apply if you do not file or pay them on time. Your tax refund may be reduced by the government to cover any unpaid taxes and other federal and state debts.
Read “Filing Past Due Tax Returns” and “What to Do if I Owe Taxes But Can’t Pay Them” to learn more about your options if you believe you owe taxes.
Tax software including such MyFreeTaxes, H&R Block, or TurboTax will easily determine if you qualify for the Recovery Rebate Credit when you file your taxes.
If your taxable income is less than $72,000, you can prepare and file your federal income taxes for free using IRS Free File. If your income is less than $56,000, you can utilize the IRS VITA Locator tool or go to the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide website to locate a free tax location near you during tax season.
If you have received a stimulus check for the first, second, or third time, you’ll need to know how much each check was worth. Click here for assistance in determining the value of your checks. If you have been not yet received of your stimulus checks, you will be able to asked questions to validate your eligibility and the amount owed to you.
Checking Stimulus for the First Time
If you are eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit based on your 2020 tax return and did not qualify for the first stimulus check based on your 2018 or 2019 taxes, you can claim it (which you file in 2021).
Here Are Several Scenarios In Which You Might Need To Behave To Get The First Stimulus Check:
- You were not eligible for a stimulus check if you were claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2019 tax return (see Q C6). If that changes in 2020, and you fulfill the other eligibility standards, you can claim the credit on your federal tax return for that year (which you file in 2021).
- You can claim the tax credit on your tax return if you are detained and did not get your first stimulus payment.
- When their family has previously rejected a stimulus payment because only one spouse had a Social Security number (SSN), that regulation has now been amended. The first stimulus check can be claimed as the Recovery Rebate Tax Credit by the spouse with the SSN and qualifying children with SSNs. For both spouses to claim the first stimulus check, only one spouse needs to have an SSN if you’re a military household.
- You can claim the extra money by submitting a 2020 tax return if your first stimulus check did not include all of your qualifying dependents (see Q C5), or if your income decreased in 2020 and you only received a partial stimulus check owing to your 2018 or 2019 income (see Q B11) (which you file in 2021).
- Check for A Second Stimulus: If you did not qualify for the second stimulus check based on your 2019 taxes, you may be eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit based on your 2020 tax return if you are eligible. Please note that certain of the eligibility conditions for the second stimulus check differ from those for the first stimulus check.
Here Are Some Examples of When You Would Need to Act to Get the Second Stimulus Check:
You were not eligible for a stimulus check if you were claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2019 tax return. If that changed in 2020, and you fulfill the other eligibility standards, you can claim the credit on your federal tax return for that year (which you file in 2021).
The IRS will not reissue your second stimulus check if it was sent to a bank account that is closed or no longer functioning. Instead, you’ll have to claim the cash as a Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 tax return.
When your second stimulus check did not include all of your qualifying dependents, or if your income reduced in 2020 and you only received a half stimulus check based on your 2019 income, you can claim the extra money on your 2020 federal tax return.
Checking For Stimulus for the Third Time
You can claim the Recovery Rebate Credit if you are eligible for it based on your 2021 tax return and did not qualify for the third stimulus payment based on your 2019 or 2020 taxes.
Here Are Several Scenarios in Which You Might Need to Act to Get the Third Stimulus Check:
- You were not eligible for a stimulus check if you were claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2020 tax return. If that changes in 2021 and you complete the other standards, you can claim the credit on your federal tax return for that year (which you file in 2022).
- If you did not receive the right amount on your third stimulus check, it was based on your 2019 return or information from the Social Security Administration, Railroad Retirement Board, or Veteran Affairs.
- If your third stimulation check did not include all of your qualified dependents, or if your income reduced in 2021 and you only received a half stimulus check due to your 2019 or 2020 income, you may be able to claim the extra money when you file your federal tax return for 2021. (Which you will file in 2022).
Check Out: Are you Qualified for the fourth stimulus check.
Calculate the Totals of Your First, Second, and Third Stimulus Checks.
To Find out How Much Stimulus Money You’ve Received:
- Refer to the IRS notices you received in the mail. The amount you got from the first stimulus check is shown in IRS Notice 1444. The amount you received from the second stimulus check is shown on IRS Notice 1444-B. The amount you got from the third stimulus check is shown on IRS Notice 1444-C. You can also check all the check-in IRS Stimulus check calculator.
- Take a look at your bank statements. You can find the amount of your first, second, and third stimulus checks on your bank statements if you had your payments direct deposited. They should be labelled “IRS TREAS 310” with a code of “TAXEIP1” (first stimulus check), “TAXEIP2” (second stimulus check), or “TAXEIP3” (third stimulus check) (third stimulus check).
- Request a copy of your account’s transcript. Using Get Transcript, you can have an account transcript emailed or mailed to you. You can also request a transcript by mail by calling the IRS’ automated phone transcript service at 800-908-9946 or mailing in Form 4506-T.
- On IRS.gov/account, create an account. Under the Tax Records tab, you can see the amount of your stimulus check. You will only see your part of the stimulus check amounts if you filed jointly with your spouse. To access the other half of the stimulus check amounts, your spouse will need to log into their own account.
To Make An Account, You’ll Need The Following Items:
- Full name, email, birthday, Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN), tax filing status, and current address are the most basic pieces of information.
- A number from ONE of your banking statements, such as the last eight digits of your VISA, Mastercard, or Discovery credit card, or the account number of one of the following kinds of mortgages: student loan, mortgage loan, home equity loan, home equity line of credit, OR vehicle loan.
- If none of the above options work for you, you can estimate the amount of stimulus checks you’ll need based on memory. If you make a mistake, the IRS will correct the amount for you, which may cause your tax return to be delayed. Any modifications to your tax return will be communicated to you by the IRS.
Follow Trusted World News to keep up to date on Stimulus Checks.
