Here Is What To Do If You Haven’t Received Your Stimulus Money

Are you still watching your bank account for that second round of stimulus money?

Unfortunately, if you haven’t yet received it, you only have a few more days in which to hope and wish that it magically drops into your account.

Unlike the FIRST round of stimulus money, THESE stimulus checks won’t be spaced out over several months.

This time around, the Internal Revenue Service, by law, must issue the latest Economic Impact Payments by Jan. 15. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 set the cutoff date for sending the latest payments.

Yahoo Finance

That means, you only have a short time to receive your check, since the IRS started issuing the money at the end of December.

But, what if you DON’T receive the funds by January 15th? Does that mean you’re stuck without any stimulus money?

Not necessarily. Some money went into the wrong accounts, and the IRS and Treasury are working on that little snafu. So, you might be in that group of unlucky people.

There is also another set of people who have to file a 2020 tax return before you get your money. Yeah, I’m not sure why.

Taxpayers will need to file a 2020 federal income tax return to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit if they didn’t get the money or they received less money than they’re eligible to get, such as if a child’s stimulus wasn’t included in the payout.

Yahoo Finance

You can claim this Recovery Rebate Credit on line 30 of your 1040 for the 2020 tax season.

If you didn’t get your money, or if you were shorted part of the money that was owed to you, accessing line 30 of the 1040 will help the IRS in getting you the money that is owed to you.

The GOOD news is that the recovery money is not treated as taxable income. What does that mean? The bottom line is, the stimulus money isn’t taxed.

An important point to note: You’d want to file a 2020 federal income tax return even if you are not required to file a return in order to get that recovery rebate. The same is true, of course, if you qualify for things like the Earned Income Tax Credit for lower income workers or some other credits.

Yahoo Finance

Now, any unemployment benefits you received as part of either stimulus IS taxable, and you should talk to the person who prepares your taxes to figure that out.

So, to sum all this up in easy peasy terms — You might get your money by direct deposit, check, or debit card sometime around the 15th of January. If you don’t, and you think you are due money, you need to file your taxes, and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit.

Yes, if you have to file the rebate, it will take longer to get your money. But, I guess the good news is, you will get your money one way or the other.

Now, you CAN go to the “Get My Payment” tool on the IRS.gov site, but MANY have said it is very confusing. It might be better to just go ahead and talk to the person who prepares your taxes.