WASHINGTON — The clock is ticking for more than one million people across the country to claim money they’re owed from the IRS because they never filed a 2021 tax return. That includes their $1,400 stimulus check from the pandemic-era relief program.
The IRS recently announced that roughly 1.1 million people have until April 15 to submit tax returns for unclaimed refunds for tax year 2021, which totals more than $1 billion nationwide.
The IRS estimates the median refund amount owed is $781 for 2021, not including stimulus check amounts.
California (116,300), Texas (102,200), New York (73,000) and Florida (69,800) have the largest number of people potentially eligible for these refunds.
Taxpayers typically have three years to file and claim tax refunds, otherwise the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury. April 15 is also the deadline for this year’s tax season, where taxpayers must file or ask for an extension.
In December, the IRS began automatically sending out more than 1 million payments to people who did file their taxes for 2021 but didn’t claim the Recovery Rebate Credit at the time. That credit was a way for people who did not receive one or more of the stimulus payments paid out during the COVID-19 pandemic to apply for them.
Anybody who did not file their taxes in 2021 may be eligible for the payments, which are up to $1,400 per person. The exact amount each person can receive is based on a variety of factors and may be lower than the maximum $1,400.
Even those who made no money or had little income are eligible for the credit as long as they file a 2021 tax return by the deadline.
Those who did file a tax return for 2021 already, but failed to claim the stimulus check at the time, should have recently received the payments automatically.
You don’t need to do anything beyond filing your 2021 tax return to receive the payment. Simply file, and you’ll receive a direct deposit or a paper check in the mail, along with a letter notifying you of the payment.
“The IRS continues to work hard to make improvements and help taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel in a statement. “These payments are an example of our commitment to go the extra mile for taxpayers. Looking at our internal data, we realized that one million taxpayers overlooked claiming this complex credit when they were actually eligible. To minimize headaches and get this money to eligible taxpayers, we’re making these payments automatic, meaning these people will not be required to go through the extensive process of filing an amended return to receive it.”
The push by the Internal Revenue Service for people to claim their money is part of the federal government closing the chapter on its response to the coronavirus pandemic that radically changed the country starting in 2020.
Officially known as Economic Impact Payments, three rounds of stimulus checks were directly deposited into the bank accounts of millions of Americans over the course of 2020 and 2021.
The goal was to provide spending cash to Americans put out of work, jump starting the economy and preventing more businesses from closing.
Any government project of the scale of the stimulus checks has some falling through the cracks, and the IRS has for years been encouraging those who did not receive their full payments to apply for them through tax returns.
