Millions of Americans received their second round of stimulus checks during the past two weeks. Still, many others have not and the IRS and United States Treasury now have a deadline of Friday (January 15) to send the second check of up to $600 as part of the cutoff stated in December's stimulus bill.
If you don't receive your second stimulus payment by the Friday deadline or if it arrives but is missing money for your dependents, don't worry. If you are qualified to get a stimulus payment it won't be forfeited, but you will have to take action to make sure you are paid the money you're owed.
To claim missing stimulus money after Friday's deadline, you'll have to file for a Recovery Rebate Credit from the IRS while filing your taxes this year. By doing so, you are eligible to either increase the amount of tax refund or lower the amount of the tax you need to pay by the amount owed in your stimulus payment that was never received.
In some cases, such as receiving a confirmation letter from the IRS about the payment but never actually receiving the payment itself, you may need to contact the IRS directly.
You can file for an IRS Recovery Rebate Credit while filing your federal tax returns for the 2020 fiscal year; if the typical schedule holds, tax returns will be due April 15, although the IRS extended last year's deadline to July 15 amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The IRS allows U.S. residents to file taxes using the Recovery Rebate Credit on the 2020 Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR in order to claim their unpaid stimulus. The agency also provides Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet, which helps U.S. residents figure out whether they are missing a payment and the value of the missing payment.
Taxpayers will need the IRS' calculated amount listed on the Notice 1444 letter for the first stimulus payment and Notice 144-B for the second payment while filing taxes this year. If you are filing for credit and are owed money, your tax refund total will increase or the amount owed will decrease, depending on how much stimulus money you are owed.
Photo: Getty Images