First Economic Impact Payment Questions and Answers — Topic K: General Information

A1. For security reasons, the IRS mailed you a letter, Notice 1444, about your first Economic Impact Payment to your last known address within 15 days after your payment date. The letter provides information on how the payment was made.

Please keep this notice with your records and refer to it when filing your 2020 tax return to determine if you’re eligible for any 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit.

Note: The IRS is unable to issue a copy of the notice if you lost it or you never received it, even though you received a payment. Your payment amounts are available in Online Account.

A2. The IRS urges everyone to be on the lookout for scam artists trying to use the Economic Impact Payments as a cover for schemes to steal personal information and money. The IRS doesn’t initiate contact by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information – even information related to the Economic Impact Payments. Also, watch out for emails with attachments or links claiming to have special information about Economic Impact Payments or refunds.

If you receive a suspicious IRS-related email, see Report Phishing and Online Scams for additional information.

A3. No. Get My payment will not give you a status for your first payment. The IRS and Treasury have issued all first and second Economic Impact Payments.

If you did not receive a payment this year or do not receive the maximum amount, you may be eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit and must file your 2020 tax return.

A4. The IRS issued you this notice if we were unable to process your 2019 tax return in time to issue your Economic Impact Payment. The notice was intended to provide the following explanation:

• We’re required by law to mail the first Economic Impact Payments by December 31, 2020. We couldn’t issue you a check by this date, so you won’t be receiving an Economic Impact Payment. However, you may claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 tax return if eligible. 

In some cases, the notice contained incorrect information. It stated: 

• We applied a credit to your 2007 tax account due to new legislation. We used (offset) all or part of your economic stimulus payment to pay your federal tax as the law allows. 

This notice is not accurate for anyone who received it. Since no payment was issued, no offsets occurred. We apologize for the confusion this may have caused. You can disregard the notice.  

You can claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 tax return if you are eligible. 

If you owe federal debts, here’s what you need to know about offsets and the Economic Impact Payments: 

• The first Economic Impact Payments were offset only when the individual owed past due child support. 
• The second Economic Impact Payments were not offset for any federal or state tax debts. The second payment was not offset if the taxpayer owes past due child support.

For more information about claiming the credit, see Recovery Rebate Credit.