A million taxpayers will soon receive up to $1,400 from the IRS

Approximately 1 million taxpayers will soon receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS as part of an initiative to distribute unclaimed Recovery Rebate Credits from 2021. These payments target taxpayers who were eligible for COVID-19 stimulus payments but either left the rebate credit field blank or incorrectly marked it as $0 on their 2021 tax returns. The IRS identified these cases through internal data.

Eligible individuals will automatically receive the payments, which will be sent via direct deposit or paper check by late January 2025. The maximum payment per individual is $1,400, and the IRS will notify recipients through letters explaining eligibility and payment calculations.

Taxpayers who have not yet filed a 2021 tax return can still claim the Recovery Rebate Credit by filing before the April 15, 2025 deadline. This effort is part of the broader pandemic relief initiative, which distributed $814 billion across three rounds of stimulus payments between 2020 and 2021 under the CARES Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act.

Source: NPR