There's Still Time to Claim Unpaid Economic Stimulus Payments

By Ken Berry, J.D.

Did you get the full amount of the economic stimulus payments you were entitled to receive during the height of the pandemic? If not, you may still be able to recover the payments you’re owed from the IRS. But time is running out—fast—for certain taxpayers.

Details: In order to stimulate the economy while the nation was in the throes of the pandemic, Congress approved three rounds of Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) for qualified taxpayers. The first handout, issued in 2020, provided an EIP of $1,200 per individual. The second one was issued for half that amount—$600 per individual—later that same year. And the third and final EIP, included in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021, increased the benefit to $1,400 per individual, as well as authorizing payment of another $1,400 per dependent.

Note that EIPs weren’t sent to all taxpayers. Availability was phased out for folks with higher income, at different levels for the three stimulus checks.

Potential problem: Not everyone who was entitled to an EIP was able to collect the full amount they were owed. Either they didn’t receive the correct amount or they didn’t get a payment at all. Generally, you could request a refund on the tax return for the year in question, but some taxpayers missed the boat. So you may still be entitled to money from Uncle Sam.

To help taxpayers resolve these issues, the IRS created a “Get My Payment” section on its website where you could quickly check your status for EIPs. However, if you go to https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment today, you’ll find out the IRS has closed up shop. This function is no longer available.

Fortunately, there’s an easy solution:

Taxpayers can file an amended return for any tax year in which you didn’t receive the full EIP. For example, if you’re owed $1,200 for the first EIP in 2020, you can file an amended return for the 2020 tax year and claim a refund. Similarly, you can do this for the other two EIPs in their respective tax years.

But be aware that he IRS gives you limited tome to file an amended return. You only have until the later of three years from the due date of the original return or two years after the date you paid the tax to wrap things up. In other words, the due date for filing an amended 2020 return is generally May 17, 2024 (the usual April 15 deadline was extended due to the pandemic).

The clock is ticking. Don’t delay!