The IRS estimates that there’s over a billion {dollars} in unclaimed funds owed to 1,000,000 taxpayers.
Sure. One million individuals who have been eligible for a stimulus test didn’t get one.
All as a result of they did not file their 2021 tax return.
In case you did not get a stimulus test in 2021 however have been eligible for one, you could have till tax day in 2025 to file your 2021 tax return and get it as a Restoration Rebate Credit score. As of this writing, that day is a mere eight days away – April fifteenth, 2025.
When the stimulus test was issued, it was solely despatched to individuals who had filed their 2021 tax return and recognized by the IRS to be eligible for it. In case you did not file a 2021 tax return, the IRS did not know you need to’ve gotten a test. Even if you happen to have been eligible, you did not get one as a result of the IRS did not know!
Many voters do not file tax returns for quite a lot of causes – low revenue, dwelling off Social Safety or different advantages, lack of steady housing, or another purpose. However if you happen to do not file, you could not get the test.
Thankfully, you could have 5 years to file a tax return. In case you have been due a refund, which is how the stimulus test is handled below tax regulation, you forfeit refunds over three years previous.
By submitting as we speak, if eligible, you could possibly get a test that is as a result of you.
In case you do not file a return and have been eligible, there is no method to get the test.
Who was eligible?
First, you must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien with a Social Safety quantity and you aren’t claimed as a depending on another person’s tax return.
Subsequent, you have been eligible for the complete stimulus test in case your adjusted gross revenue (AGI) was:
- Single filers – $75,000 or much less
- Head of family – $112,500 or much less
- Married submitting collectively – $150,000 or much less
In case you earned greater than that, you could possibly nonetheless get a partial stimulus test as a result of the quantity was phased out.
You additionally obtained extra funds for qualifying dependent kids of $1,400 every. This was an enormous bounce from earlier checks, which added solely $500/$600 for qualifying dependent kids below 17.
Who ought to test their eligible?
In case you did not obtain a test and imagine you fall inside these revenue and eligibility limits, you need to test to see if you happen to have been eligible.
In case you do not keep in mind, you possibly can test to see if you happen to obtained one on the IRS web site.
How one can file your 2021 tax return now
You’ll be able to nonetheless file your 2021 tax return with lots of the identical tax preparation providers you’d use on your 2025 return. They’re outfitted to file prior yr returns and you are able to do it on-line.
This record of the low price tax preparation providers works for 2025 and 2021, although you’ll have to navigate by way of the tax firm’s web site to seek out the suitable types.
In case you want help, you possibly can at all times depend on the Volunteer Revenue Tax Help program from the IRS.
Act rapidly
As I discussed earlier, there’s little or no time since you forfeit refunds if you happen to do not file inside three years.