The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is issuing one million additional $1,400 payments to taxpayers who missed out on full or partial stimulus checks during the pandemic. The agency is distributing a total of $2.4 billion in “special payments” as part of an effort to resolve outstanding claims.
These payments, expected to be delivered through January, aim to address situations where eligible recipients did not receive the full amount during the three previous rounds of federal stimulus relief. In 2020 and 2021, $390 billion in direct payments were sent to Americans: $1,200 in April 2020, $600 in December 2020, and $1,400 in March 2021.
Who Is Getting the $1,400 Stimulus Check?
Approximately one million US taxpayers have been identified as not claiming an earned stimulus through the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax return. Those taxpayers will receive the owed $1,400 by the end of the month.
Eligible individuals who filed 2023 tax returns will receive the payments automatically, either via direct deposit to their listed bank accounts or as checks mailed to their addresses. Recipients will also be notified by letter about the payments.
For those who did not file a 2021 tax return, eligibility can still be claimed by submitting a tax return by April 15, 2025, and applying for the Recovery Rebate Credit. Payments will vary based on what is owed, with a maximum of $1,400.
The IRS has emphasized that taxpayers do not need to take additional steps to receive the payments unless they missed filing their returns in prior years.
Stimulus payments distributed during the pandemic provided vital financial relief for millions, but the ongoing distribution of unclaimed funds underscores the complexity of the federal aid system.
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