If you didn’t get the full Economic Impact Payment, you may be eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit. See Recovery Rebate Credit for more information. All Economic Impact Payments have been sent. To find the amount of Economic Impact Payments issued to you, see your Online Account. If you didn’t get any payments or got less than the full amounts, you may qualify for the Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a tax return to claim the credit even if you don’t normally file. Q B1. I received a letter - IRS Notice 1444-A - from the IRS telling me I have to act to claim an Economic Impact Payment by October 15, 2020 but did not act. What should I do? (updated March 10, 2021) A1. If you didn’t receive your first Economic Impact Payment, you may still be eligible to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return to claim it. Receiving the letter is not a guarantee of eligibility for an Economic Impact Payment. For more information on eligibility requirements, see 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit on IRS.gov. See Topic F: Finding the Economic Impact Payment Amount to Calculate the Recovery Rebate Credit. Q B2. I filed a 2019 tax return. What do I need to do to get my first Payment? (Updated March 10, 2021) A2. If the IRS was unable to process your 2019 return and issue you the first Economic Impact Payment by December 31, 2020, you may be able to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return to claim it. Q B3. I haven’t filed a federal tax return for 2018 or 2019 because I’m not required to file. I don’t receive Social Security retirement or any other federal benefits. What do I need to do to get my first Payment? (updated March 10, 2021 ) A3. If you didn’t receive your first Economic Impact Payment, you may be eligible to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return to claim it. See Topic A: Claiming the Recovery Rebate Credit if you aren’t required to file a tax return. Q B4. I haven’t filed my 2019 tax return but filed my 2018 return and already received my first Economic Impact Payment. Will filing a 2019 return affect my Economic Impact Payment? (updated March 10, 2021) A4. No. The IRS used the information from your 2018 tax return to calculate the first Payment amount since you hadn’t filed your 2019 return yet. If you didn’t receive the full amount of the first Economic Impact Payment to which you believe you are entitled, you may be eligible to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return to claim it. Notice 1444, Your Economic Impact Payment, was mailed to your last known address within a few weeks after a Payment was made. The notice provided information about your Economic Impact Payment. When you file your 2020 tax return, you can refer to Notice 1444 when completing the Recovery Rebate Credit worksheet or tax software to determine if you are eligible to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 tax return. See Topic F: Finding the Economic Impact Payment Amount to Calculate the Recovery Rebate Credit. Q B5. I need to file a tax return but am concerned about visiting a tax professional or local community organization in person right now to get help with my tax return. (updated March 10, 2021) A5. The IRS is no longer issuing the first Economic Impact Payment. The law required that those payments be made or allowed by December 31, 2020. If you didn’t receive a first Economic Impact Payment, you may be eligible to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return. See Topic C: Claiming the Credit for information about where you can get help. Q B6. Will the IRS contact me about my Payment? (updated March 10, 2021) A6. The IRS doesn't initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information - even related to the Economic Impact Payments or the Recovery Rebate Credit. Watch out for websites and social media attempts that request money or personal information and for schemes tied to Economic Impact Payments or the Recovery Rebate Credit. The IRS urges taxpayers to visit IRS.gov – the official IRS website – to protect against scam artists. The IRS has issued a warning about coronavirus-related scams. For security reasons, a letter about the Payment was mailed to each recipient’s last known address after the Payment was made. Q B7. Is the IRS continuing to issue first Economic Impact Payments based on 2019 tax returns individuals file in 2020? (updated March 10, 2021) A7. No, the IRS cannot issue first Economic Impact Payments after December 31, 2020. If your return was not processed in time to issue your payment by December 31, 2020, you may be eligible to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return to claim it. Q B8. If the IRS used my 2018 tax return and determined that I am not eligible for a first payment, and I later filed my 2019 tax return that changes my eligibility, will the IRS issue a first payment based on the 2019 tax return? (updated March 10, 2021) A8. No. If the IRS determined that you were ineligible for a payment based on your 2018 tax return prior to your filing a 2019 return, the IRS will not issue you a payment when your 2019 return is processed. If you meet the eligibility requirements based on your tax information in 2020, you may be eligible to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 federal income tax return to claim it. Q B9. If the IRS used my 2018 tax return to determine the amount of my first payment, and I later file my 2019 tax return that makes me eligible for a higher amount, will the IRS issue another payment automatically for the difference? (updated March 10, 2021) A9. No. If you hadn’t filed a 2019 tax return or the return had not been processed at the time of the IRS determination, the IRS used the information from your 2018 tax return to issue the first payment. If you meet the eligibility requirements based on your tax information reported on your 2020 tax return, you may be eligible to claim an additional amount as a 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 federal income tax return to claim it. The IRS encourages everyone to review the Recovery Rebate Credit Questions and Answers. After we sent your first payment, we sent the Notice 1444, Your Economic Impact Payment to your last known address. Refer to that notice when you file your 2020 tax return. See Topic F: Finding the Economic Impact Payment Amount to Calculate the Recovery Rebate Credit. Q B10. If the IRS used my 2019 tax return to determine the amount of my payment, and I later amend my return by filing a Form 1040-X or Amended EIP return that makes me eligible for a larger amount, will the IRS send me another payment for the difference? (updated March 10, 2021) A10. No. The IRS will not reevaluate payment amounts and eligibility after a payment has been issued or if you have been determined to be ineligible. This also applies to taxpayers who used the Non-Filers tool to sign up for an Economic Impact Payment and those who mailed or plan to mail a 2019 tax return using the Amended EIP Return instructions. However, if you meet the eligibility requirements based on your tax information in 2020, you may be eligible to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 federal income tax return to claim it. For more information about how to calculate your credit amount, see the Recovery Rebate Credit Questions and Answers page. After we sent your first payment, we sent Notice 1444, Your Economic Impact Payment, with information about your payment to your last known address. Refer to that notice when you file your 2020 tax return. You may need the notice to determine if you are eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 federal tax return. See Topic F: Finding the Economic Impact Payment Amount to Calculate the Recovery Rebate Credit. Q B11. My 2020 income is different from what it was when I filed my 2018 and 2019 tax returns. If I'm eligible for an Economic Impact Payment based on my 2020 income but did not get one, what should I do? (updated March 10, 2021) A11. The IRS cannot correct, or issue additional payments based on your 2020 income until you file your 2020 tax return. The IRS used your 2019 tax return (or 2018 if 2019 wasn’t on file) to determine your eligibility and calculate the first Economic Impact Payment. If you didn’t get an Economic Impact Payment or you didn’t receive the maximum amount for which you were eligible, you may be eligible to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 federal income tax return to claim it. For more information about the eligibility criteria for credit, see Recovery Rebate Credit Questions and Answers. Q B12. I am currently incarcerated, or I was incarcerated at some point in 2020, and I have not received a Payment. What do I need to do to get a Payment? (updated March 10, 2021) A12. If you were not required to file a federal income tax return for 2018 or 2019 and you could not be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return, for either of those years, you had until November 4, 2020, to mail us your 2019 simplified paper return. That deadline has now passed. Eligible incarcerated individuals may claim a 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return and claim it on line 30. Economic Impact Payment Topics Topic A: EIP Eligibility Topic B: Requesting My Economic Impact Payment Topic C: Calculating My Economic Impact Payment Topic D: Receiving My Payment Topic E: EIP Cards Topic F: Payment Issued but Lost, Stolen, Destroyed or Not Received Topic G: Non-Filers Tool Topic H: Social Security, Railroad Retirement and Department of Veteran Affairs benefit recipients Topic I: Returning the Economic Impact Payment Topic J: Reconciling on your 2020 tax return Topic K: General Information
