About two million Americans are getting a stimulus check this week, according to the IRS, which has been mailing out the economic impact payments in batches.
So far, the IRS has distributedmore than $379 billion over 161 million payments from the American Rescue Plan, the coronavirus relief measure passed earlier this year under the Biden administration.
The majority of payments in this latest batch are going to people who recently filed their 2020 tax returns.
The IRS says the recent returns provided an updated address for some recipients so they could receive their stimulus check, or it provided more details and allowed for a “plus-up” payment.
When the IRS began issuing the third stimulus checks earlier this year, they went off of the most recent tax return information they had for individuals. For some Americans, this was outdated information that may not have reflected a change in job status or lost income during the pandemic.
Now that 2020 tax information is being filed, and more accurate information is being recorded, the IRS is able to send Americans any additional money they are owed. These are being called “plus-up” payments.
Tax forms for 2020 are due May 17, 2021, after the IRS extended the deadline.
The IRS is encouraging people who may not normally file a tax return to consider doing so this year “to get all the benefits they're entitled to under the law, including tax credits such as the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the Earned Income Tax Credit.”
Anyone with questions about tax returns, the economic impact payments or the status of their stimulus check, can head to IRS.gov.
