The Internal Revenue Service announced on January 26 that all third-round Economic Impact Payments have been issued. While some payments of the Economic Impact Payments from 2021 may still be in the mail, the IRS is no longer issuing new payments.
Families with new dependents in 2021
The third-round Economic Impact Payment was an advance payment of the tax year 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit. The amount you received as a third-round Economic Impact Payment was based on your income and number of dependents as listed on your 2019 or 2020 income tax return, but the amount of the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit you are due is based on your income and number of dependents as listed on your 2021 income tax return. As a result, you may not have received the full amount you are due if your circumstances changed between 2020 and 2021.
If you or your family fit into any of the categories below, you may be eligible to receive more money by claiming the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit on you 2021 income tax return:
- Parents of a child born in 2021 who claim the child as a dependent on their 2021 income tax return may be eligible to receive a 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit of up to $1,400 for this child. (All eligible parents of qualifying children born or welcomed through adoption or foster care in 2021 are also encouraged to claim the child tax credit — worth up to $3,600 per child born in 2021 — on their 2021 income tax return.)
- Families who added a dependent – such as a parent, a nephew or niece, or a grandchild – on their 2021 income tax return who was not listed as a dependent on their 2020 income tax return may be eligible to receive a 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit of up to $1,400 for this dependent.
- Reduced income.
- Single filers who had incomes above $80,000 in 2020 but less than this amount in 2021; married couples who filed a joint return and had incomes above $160,000 in 2020 but less than this amount in 2021; and head of household filers who had incomes above $120,000 in 2020 but less than this amount in 2021 may be eligible for a 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit of up to $1,400 per person.
- Single filers who had incomes between $75,000 and $80,000 in 2020 but had lower incomes in 2021; married couples who filed a joint return and had incomes between $150,000 and $160,000 in 2020 but had lower incomes in 2021; and head of household filers who had incomes between $112,500 and $120,000 in 2020 but had lower incomes in 2021 may be eligible for a 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit.
If you are entitled to eligible to receive more money by claiming the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit, you must claim it on your 2021 income tax return in order to receive it; the IRS will not automatically calculate the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit. The IRS began accepting 2021 income tax returns on January 24.
Most other eligible people already received the full amount of their credit in advance and don’t need to include any information about this payment when they file their 2021 tax return. The IRS issued additional payments – called “Plus-Up” Payments – to people who initially received a third-round Economic Impact Payment based on information on their 2019 tax return and were eligible for a larger amount based on information on their 2020 tax return.