Eligible Americans who missed out on one of the stimulus payments during the COVID-19 pandemic because they didn’t file a tax return have about a week left to claim it. Tax season 2025 is closing in eight days, and after the deadline of April 15, these funds of up to $1,400 will be lost forever. It’s not too late, though: all a person has to do is make sure they’re eligible and catch up with their tax return for the year the tax credit was issued. You can find out about this uncomplicated process below.
The context of much-needed stimulus payments in the United States
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the US government and the IRS set up several stimulus payments and credits to assist citizens with financial relief. The intention was to relieve some of the economic stress caused by lockdowns, which affected businesses and individuals. The funds were much appreciated at the time when many people’s incomes were affected, and they were left unable to keep up with day-to-day living expenses.
The Internal Revenue Service reports that hundreds of thousands of people who were eligible for EIPs (Economic Impact Payments) neglected to claim them.
One of these credits was the Recovery Rebate Credit. After reviewing internal data, the agency learned that many qualifying Americans, for whatever reason, didn’t fill out that section of their 2021 tax return in 2022. Others didn’t file their returns at all, and it’s these people who have just eight days to claim by catching up on their 2021 income tax return.
The $1,400 Recovery Rebate Credit Eligibility Criteria
The third stimulus payment under the American Rescue Plan was issued in March 2021. The eligibility criteria were fairly broad, and these are the points that applicants had to comply with in terms of income:
- Income threshold for individuals: $75,000 was the earnings threshold for taxpayers who file their income taxes as individuals to qualify for the full Recovery Rebate Credit in 2021 of $1,400. For higher earnings, a scale was applied to claimants’ income, with those earning more receiving an incrementally lower amount.
- Income threshold for joint filers: For couples who submitted their income taxes jointly, the earnings threshold was $150,000 to qualify for the full stimulus payment. A similar earnings scale was applied to couples’ incomes who earned above this figure.
This means that the maximum amount for the Recovery Rebate Credit was $1,400, but many people were still due a payment after the earnings scale was applied. The IRS says that around $2.4 billion in credits was left unclaimed.
Apply for the $1,400 tax credit before the filing deadline on April 15
These are the broad requirements to claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit in 2025:
- Taxpayers must be legal residents of the United States.
- They must have a valid Social Security number or be the guardian of someone they claim as a dependent on their tax return who has a Social Security number or Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (who is not allowed to appear as a dependent on anyone else’s tax return).
If you qualify under these criteria, the process to claim is simple: American citizens who didn’t file their return need to submit their 2021 income tax return before this year’s filing deadline of April 15. They also need to make sure they fill in the relevant section for the Recovery Rebate Credit.
Once the return has been processed by the IRS, the credit will be issued. If taxpayers have no outstanding tax liability, the funds will be paid out as a direct bank deposit or mailed in the form of a paper check. A notification from the IRS will be sent to everyone by mail. So get working on your 2021 income tax return now, and you could be $1,400 richer soon.