As soon as he took office in January 2021, Joe Biden made a relief from the Coronavirus his top priority.
On a party-line vote, the Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan Act, COVID-19’s aid bill, by March. Among the benefits of the American Rescue Plan Act were:
- Adults and dependents eligible for stimulus checks of $1,400 each
- Additional relief for parents with the expansion of the Child Tax Credit
The expanded Child Tax Credit is still owed to parents who qualify for it – with some owing the entire amount.
There are likely many others who applied for the $1,400 stimulus checks who didn’t receive the full amount they deserved.
Those who did not receive all of the money they were entitled to can begin claiming it starting today. Below are the steps to go about this.
How Unpaid Stimulus Funds Can Now Be Claimed
As a result of the American Rescue Plan Act, a stimulus check and expanded child tax credits were set up to help qualified Americans during the middle of the COVID crisis in 2021.
However, both were actually tax credit advances.
If someone didn’t receive their payment, they can claim their credit by filing their 2021 taxes and claiming the amount due, according to the Fool report.
Until the 2021 tax filing season began, this wasn’t possible. This is now possible.
In order to receive your back tax refund for last year, you must file your 2021 taxes before November 18 by either mailing your forms or submitting them electronically.
You can get your money faster if you file electronically and request direct deposit into your bank account.
The IRS usually processes your return and sends you your money within 21 days, with a few exceptions.
You may have to wait several weeks if you claim the Earned Income Tax Credit or the American Opportunity Tax Credit.
It’s imperative that you visit the IRS website to find out how to file your tax return for free and start claiming your stimulus money immediately now that you are eligible.
Read More: Do You Plan to Claim Social Security at 67? Think Twice
Are You Expecting Money?
The government owes unpaid stimulus money to millions of Americans, which has to be addressed immediately. These include those:
- Whose tax return hadn’t been filed in a while. Due to your failure to file a recent tax return, the IRS may not have known your income or how many dependents you have, and you would not be qualified for both the $1,400 stimulus check and the expanded Child Tax Credit.
- Who suffered a sharp drop in income. In order to qualify for the $1,400 check and the expanded Child Tax Credit, there were income limits. You wouldn’t have received money from the IRS in 2021 if you exceeded those limits when you filed your 2020 taxes since the IRS had no way of knowing you owed it. Nevertheless, you can get your funds if your income in 2021 was below the eligibility threshold by updating the IRS with your earnings record last year.
- You have a new dependent. The IRS wouldn’t have been aware of any new dependents you added to your family in 2021 because their names wouldn’t have been listed on previous tax returns. Because of this, you would have missed out on the $1,400 stimulus check and the expanded Child Tax Credit for your new dependents.
- The expanded Child Tax Credit is available to you as a parent. With the expanded Child Tax Credit, children under the age of 6 could receive $3,600, and older kids could receive $3,000, depending on their age. From July to December 2021, half of the money, approximately $250 or $300 was deposited into parents’ bank accounts on a monthly basis, but parents need to claim the other half.
If you are one of these groups or if you did not receive all of the stimulus money you were owed in 2021 for any other reason, you can file a claim now.
You should not wait to file if you are seeking COVID-19 assistance.