On Friday, the IRS declared that “as part of continuing efforts to help taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service today announced plans to issue automatic payments later this month to eligible people who did not claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns.”

IRS is sending 1 million additional checks from the 2021 stimulus

The IRS stated that approximately 1 million people will receive these stimulus checks starting this month. IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel explained, “looking at our internal data, we realized that one million taxpayers overlooked claiming this complex credit when they were actually eligible.” Werfel mentioned that his agency “continues to work hard to make improvements and help taxpayers” and that “these payments are an example of our commitment to go the extra mile for taxpayers.”

How do people get this money?

For most people who qualify, no action is required to receive these payments. Anyone who is eligible to receive this money and who filed taxes in 2021 does not need to do anything; the money will either be mailed to them by check or deposited into their bank accounts based on the information provided in the taxpayers’ 2023 tax returns or on file with the IRS. The payments will be issued in December, and most will arrive by the end of January. The amount of each payment will vary based on a variety of factors, with a maximum amount of $1,400 per individual. However, people who have not filed their 2021 tax returns must file by April 15 to be eligible for the payment, “even if any income from a job, business or other source was minimal or nonexistent,” according to the IRS.

Leftover money from 2020 and 2021 stimulus payments

The new round of checks, totaling $2.4 billion, comes from money allocated to taxpayers as part of three economic stimulus payments authorized in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, eligible tax filers were sent up to $100 per individual and $500 per child in March 2020. The Consolidated Appropriations Act led to additional payments in December 2020 of up to $600 for each eligible tax filer and child. Finally, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 led to an additional March 2021 payment of up to $100 per eligible tax filer and the same amount per child.

Most people who qualified for these payments have received them already and should not expect to be part of this new round of payments. However, with 1 million people having unclaimed stimulus money, the outgoing checks from the IRS will provide a financial boost for quite a few people as we enter 2025.