There’s a Stimulus Check available for American taxpayers and there’s less than a month left to receive it. Tax season 2025, which opened on January 27 when the IRS started accepting income tax returns, is almost over and if you have not claimed this credit, you will miss out on $1,400. If you have no taxes due, this entire amount will be paid out as a refund, and anyone who is eligible but neglects to claim will be disappointed.
In 2021, a credit was available that not all eligible Americans claimed
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the United States government made a credit available to taxpayers that was intended to offset some of the financial strain caused by lockdowns and the poor state of the economy. The funds were a welcome boost at a time when millions were feeling the pressure of keeping up with living costs such as housing and healthcare.
The eligibility criteria were linked to the Economic Impact Payments and the Internal Revenue Service discovered after reviewing internal data that hundreds of thousands of qualifying people who could have claimed didn’t fill out this portion of their tax return.
1 Million Americans qualify but neglected to claim the credit
The credit that’s still available until the tax filing deadline of April 15, 2025, is the Recovery Rebate Credit that became available in 2021 and the maximum amount is $1,400. The credit was issued to taxpayers who didn’t receive one or more of the Economic Impact Payments (also referred to as Stimulus Payments), which were also intended to relieve some financial stress caused by the pandemic.
The Internal Revenue Service reports that around one million taxpayers qualified for the Recovery Rebate Credit but for whatever reason didn’t claim it, and this is their chance to get their share.
How do you claim the Recovery Rebate Credit for 2021?
The IRS decided to extend the period to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit because so many eligible tax filers neglected to claim it in their tax returns, with many of them either unaware that the credit existed or under the impression that they didn’t meet the eligibility requirements. In December 2024, the IRS announced that around $2.4 billion would be distributed to eligible individuals who hadn’t claimed the Recovery Rebate Credit yet.
It should be noted that taxpayers do not need to claim the credit in their tax returns the same way it was done when it was first issued. The IRS decided to make the payments automatic and they started going out in December. Tax filers who selected bank deposit as their preferred mode of payment will see it land in their accounts faster than those who opted to have a paper check posted.
The IRS will be sending out letters of notification to all beneficiaries, so if you did not receive the credit, then the Internal Revenue Service has determined that you do not qualify or you received all the credits that were available at the time.
What if you did not file a 2021 income tax return at all?
Taxpayers who didn’t file a 2021 tax return can still get the credit if they file by this year’s deadline of April 15. Taxpayers who filed but did not fill in the Recovery Rebate Credit section on their 2021 tax returns are also still eligible.
Tax filers can check if they claimed the Recovery Rebate Credit by going back and checking their 2021 tax return and whether the Recovery Rebate Credit field was left blank or was filled in as $0.
IRS usually only allows three years for a refund or credit to be claimed, so this year is the last chance to receive the credit. Taxpayers are reminded to only trust verified sources of information, such as the IRS’s official website, media releases, or social media accounts.