To claim a missing stimulus check (Economic Impact Payment), you must file a past-year tax return (2020 for first/second, 2021 for the third) and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC), as the official deadline to claim these credits has passed but some automatic payments for 2021 were issued in late 2024/early 2025, so check your IRS account for records and be wary of scams.
April 15, 2025, will be the last opportunity to claim the third payment. The federal government issued three total Economic Impact Payments, also known as stimulus payments, in 2020 and 2021 to provide financial relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stimulus checks – The period to claim unpaid Economic Impact Payments has ended. In December 2024, the IRS sent payments to people who didn't receive them or claim the Recovery Rebate credit by April 2025. Read about the IRS' payments of the recovery rebate credit.
Check the status of your stimulus check on the IRS Get My Payment website.
Who qualifies for the IRS $1400 Stimulus Payment Eligibility? Individuals whose Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) falls below certain thresholds—specifically, $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for married couples—may be eligible for benefits, provided they have dependents.
Stimulus payments, called “Recovery Rebate Credits” by the IRS, were issued in 2020 and 2021. Individuals who didn't receive their 2021 payment had until April 15, 2025, to file or amend a tax return and claim a missing payment. That deadline has now passed.
Your income is too high.
A big reason you won't qualify for a stimulus payment (or economic-impact payment, as the IRS calls it) is that you make too much money. You won't get a stimulus check if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is greater than: $80,000, if your filing status was single or married and filing separately.
Verify that the check is legitimate: Use the Treasury Check Verification System to confirm that the check you received is legitimate and issued by the government.
The IRS has issued all first, second, and third stimulus checks for COVID relief. Learn more about the first stimulus check and the second stimulus check.
The “Where's My Stimulus Payment?" tool on IRS.gov is the quickest and easiest way for a taxpayer to check the status of a stimulus check and receive instructions on how to update his or her address. Taxpayers without internet access should call 1-866-234- 2942.
What you need to do
How do you get an Economic Impact Payment? Most taxpayers automatically received a payment. If you didn't and you are not required to file a tax return, the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here is a free IRS tool that allows you to easily and quickly provide information about yourself and your family.
You were only able to claim the third stimulus payment by filing a 2021 tax return by April 15, 2025 and this has now expired. You can no longer claim the first or second stimulus payment(s) on a 2020 or tax return since that expired on May 17, 2024.
If you didn't get the full amount of the third Economic Impact Payment, you may be eligible to claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2021 tax return – even if you don't usually file taxes - to claim it.
Between 2021 and 2021, the federal government issued three Economic Impact Payments to help cushion the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The third and final stimulus check went out in the spring of 2021, providing up to $1,400 for individual filers and $2,800 for married couples filing jointly.
While speculation about a fourth stimulus check has surfaced on social media and unverified websites, there has been no official confirmation from Congress or the IRS to support this claim and any such news should be taken with caution as it could be misinformation or attempted fraud.
Check the Status of Your Economic Impact Payment
Go to the ID.me sign-in page. Enter the email address associated with your account, even if you no longer have access to it. Try any passwords you commonly use. If none work, you'll need to work with an ID.me agent to recover your account.
Generally, the processing time for a credit card payment is between 1 and 5 business days, but this could change depending on a few factors. Let's look at some of the different variables that could affect the time it takes for an issuer to process your credit card payment.
You have a Social Security number; AND You are not claimed as a dependent on someone else's taxes; AND You meet the income limits for the stimulus check. WHO QUALIFIES FOR A STIMULUS CHECK? You will get $1,200 if you are single and earn less than $75,000 before taxes.
$1,400 for an eligible individual who has a valid Social Security number (SSN) ($2,800 for married couples filing a joint return if both spouses have a valid SSN or if one spouse has a valid SSN and one spouse was an active member of the U.S. Armed Forces at any time during the taxable year) plus.
Stimuli can be external or internal. An example of external stimuli is your body responding to a medicine. An example of an internal stimulus is your vital signs changing due to a change in the body.
Individuals without valid Social Security Numbers –– adult or child –– also do not qualify for the economic stimulus payment. An individual must have at least $3,000 of qualifying income for 2007 or at least $3,000 from any combination of the four types of income described below.
Stimulus checks were sent out back in 2020 as part of COVID relief. In 2021, the Recovery Rebate Credit was available to claim on your return if you didn't receive your stimulus checks. Both of those initiatives have ended.
U.S. Treasury Checks
That means that if you receive a tax refund check or a stimulus check, you would still be entitled to the money the government owes after that one-year mark, but you would need to contact the check issuer and ask for a new one if that time has passed.