To determine if you received a 2020 or 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit, check your IRS online account, which lists the total stimulus payments received. You can also verify by reviewing the IRS Notice 1444 letters sent to your address of record, or by checking line 30 of your 2020 or 2021 Form 1040.
Generally, if you were a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien in 2021, you were not a dependent of another taxpayer, and you either have a valid SSN or claim a dependent who has a valid SSN or ATIN, you are eligible to claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit.
Use the IRS Where's My Refund tool or the IRS2Go mobile app to check your refund online. This is the fastest and easiest way to track your refund. The systems are updated once every 24 hours. You can contact the IRS to check on the status of your refund.
A million tax filers got letters from the IRS in December indicating they had money coming to them because they were eligible to receive the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit but didn't claim it on their 2021 federal tax return. Those checks were sent out by late January, the IRS says.
Securely access your IRS online account to view the total of your first, second and third Economic Impact Payment amounts under the Tax Records page.
If you're eligible — and either didn't receive the full amount of the third Economic Impact Payment or if you think you qualify for a Recovery Rebate Credit that is more than the amount of the third Economic Impact Payment you received — you'll need to file a 2021 tax return to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit even if ...
To find your rebate check, you need to know if it's a federal tax refund or a state/local rebate; use the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool for federal taxes or your state's Department of Revenue website (like for Property Tax/Rent Rebates in PA or Inflation Checks in NY) with your SSN and filing details. Check the specific program's online tracker, as processing times vary, but generally, it's best to wait several weeks after filing or application.
No, the IRS is not currently sending out new $1400 stimulus checks in 2026, but they did wrap up sending out final automatic payments for unclaimed 2021 Recovery Rebate Credits in late 2024/early 2025, with the deadline to claim these missed payments passing on April 15, 2025; new checks would require new Congressional action, and any texts about current stimulus payments are scams, say FOX 5 DC, CNBC, and IRS.gov.
Things that can delay a refund:
The return has errors, is incomplete or is affected by identity theft or fraud. The return needs a correction to the child tax credit or recovery rebate credit amount.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (American Rescue Plan), enacted in early March 2021, provided Economic Impact Payments of up to $1,400 for eligible individuals or $2,800 for married couples filing jointly, plus $1,400 for each qualifying dependent, including adult dependents.
The IRS allows you to amend returns from the last three years, which sometimes results in delayed or unexpected refund checks. While a few taxpayers are genuinely seeing deposits of $2,000 or $3,000, those refunds are tied to specific past errors or missed credits, not a general program available now.
After logging into your account, you can find stimulus check information in the "tax records" section under the "records and status" toolbar. You can also check the "tax records" section to see if you filed a return for 2021.
The Recovery Rebate Credit is for people who were eligible for but did not receive one or more Economic Impact Payments (EIP), also known as stimulus payments. The stimulus payments were designed to provide assistance during the economic crisis caused by COVID-19.
Visit the IRS Get My Payment (GMP) portal at https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment to see if you can expect a 2021 Economic Impact Payment. The GMP portal will provide the date when your payment was or will be sent.
The IRS said it's distributing about $2.4 billion to taxpayers who failed to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns. Approximately 1 million taxpayers will automatically receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS in the coming weeks.
To avoid any delays, especially with the mailing of paper cheques, the Canada Revenue Agency is encouraging all Canadians eligible for rebates to sign up for direct deposit. Here are all of the federal rebates scheduled to go out to Canadians in 2026.
The special payments announced by the IRS are being sent to those taxpayers who filed a 2021 tax return but left the data field for the Recovery Rebate Credit blank or they filled it out as $0 when they were actually eligible for the credit.
Where's My Refund has the latest information on your return. If you don't have internet, call the automated refund hotline at 800-829-1954 for a current-year refund or 866-464-2050 for an amended return.
If you haven't claimed the third economic impact payment yet, now is your time to do so. April 15, 2025, will be the last opportunity to claim the third payment.
Filing deadlines if you haven't yet filed a tax return
To claim the: 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit, file a tax return by May 17, 2024. 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit, file a tax return by April 15, 2025.
Claim Your 2021 Stimulus Payment Before the April 15, 2025 Deadline.