First Economic Impact (Stimulus) Payment

Most eligible taxpayers have received their first Economic Impact Payment. If you didn’t get the full amount of that Payment, you may be eligible to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit  when you file your 2020 federal tax return.

Second Economic Impact (Stimulus) Payment

You may be eligible to get a second Economic Impact Payment. In most cases, IRS automatically send you a payment.

Claim a Recovery Rebate Credit

If you don’t get the full amount of the Economic Impact Payments, you may be eligible for a Recovery Rebate Credit. Most individuals eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit have already received the full amount in two rounds of payments, known as Economic Impact Payments.

If IRS issued you the full amount of each Economic Impact Payment, you won’t need to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit or include any information related to it when you file your 2020 tax return because we already issued your Recovery Rebate Credit as Economic Impact Payments.

If you’re eligible for the credit, and either IRS didn’t issue you any Economic Impact Payments or IRS issued less than the full amounts, you must file a 2020 tax return to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit even if you are not required to file a tax return for 2020.

Economic Impact Payments were based on your 2018 or 2019 tax year information. The Recovery Rebate Credit is similar except that the eligibility and the amount are based on 2020 information you include on your 2020 tax return.

You will need to know the amount of any Economic Impact Payments issued to you to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit. If you’re eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 tax return, it will be reduced by any Economic Impact Payments we issued to you. Always be complete and accurate when you file a return.

You should have received IRS Notice 1444 for the first Economic Impact Payment, and IRS are mailing Notice 1444-B for the second Economic Impact Payment.  Refer to them when completing your 2020 tax return. If eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit, you will use the information from these letters to determine the amounts to include as part of your 2020 tax return.