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Here’s why some people got more than one notice about their Economic Impact Payments
After each of the three Economic Impact Payments is issued, the IRS is required to mail a notice to each recipient’s last known address. The notice provides information about the amount of the payment, how it was made and how to report any payment that wasn’t received. Some people may receive multiple notices about each payment. Most people will simply file the notice with their tax records and won’t need to contact the IRS or take any further action.
Here are some details about each notice and what action some people may need to take.
• Notice 1444, Your Economic Impact Payment. The IRS mailed this notice within 15 days after the first payment was issued in 2020. Some people received another Notice 1444 if the IRS corrected or issued more than one payment in the first round. Taxpayers who received a Notice 1444 but did not receive their first payment should review the frequently asked questions for instructions on what to do if their first payment is lost, stolen, destroyed or has not been received. People should keep this letter with tax year 2020 records.
• Notice 1444-A, You May Need to Act to Claim Your Payment. The IRS mailed this letter last year to people who typically aren’t required to file federal income tax returns but may have been eligible for the first Economic Impact Payment. People who didn’t get a first and second Economic Impact Payment or got less than the full amounts, may be eligible to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return even if they don’t usually file a tax return.
• Notice 1444-B, Your Second Economic Impact Payment. The law that authorized the second payment gave the IRS more time to mail Notice 1444-B after the second payments were issued. This means people likely received their second payment several weeks before Notice 1444-B arrived. Taxpayers who received Notice 1444-B but didn’t receive the second payment should read the FAQs about what to do if their second payment is lost, stolen, destroyed or has not been received. People should keep this letter with tax year 2020 records.
• Notice 1444-C, Your 2021 Economic Impact Payment. The IRS is mailing this letter to people who received a third Economic Impact Payment. People should keep this letter with tax year 2021 records.
People should keep any IRS notices they receive about Economic Impact Payments with other tax records. The IRS cannot issue replacement copies of these notices. Taxpayers who don’t have their notices can view the amounts of their Economic Impact Payments through their online account.
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Taxpayers shouldn’t believe these myths about federal tax refunds
Now that many taxpayers have filed their federal tax returns, they’re eager for details about their refund. When it comes to refunds, there are several common myths that can mislead taxpayers.
Getting a refund this year means there’s no need to adjust withholding for 2021
To help avoid a surprise next year, taxpayers should make changes now to prepare for next year. One way to do this is to adjust their tax withholding with their employer. This is easy to do using the Tax Withholding Estimator. This tool can help taxpayers determine if their employer is withholding the right amount. This is especially important for anyone who got an unexpected result from filing their tax return this year. Also, taxpayers who experience a life event like marriage, divorce, birth of a child, an adoption or are no longer able to claim a person as a dependent are encouraged to check their withholding.
Calling the IRS or a tax professional will provide a better refund date
Many people think talking to the IRS or their tax professional is the best way to find out when they will get their refund. The best way to check the status of a refund is online through the Where’s My Refund? tool or the IRS2Go app.
Taxpayers can call the automated refund hotline at 800-829-1954. This hotline has the same information as Where’s My Refund? and IRS telephone assistors. There is no need to call the IRS unless Where’s My Refund? says to do so.
Ordering a tax transcript is a secret way to get a refund date
Doing so will not help taxpayers find out when they will get their refund. Where’s My Refund? tells the taxpayer their tax return has been received and if the IRS has approved or sent the refund.
Where’s My Refund? must be wrong because there’s no deposit date yet
Updates to Where’s My Refund? on both IRS.gov and the IRS2Go mobile app are made once a day. These updates usually occur overnight. Even though the IRS issues most refunds in less than 21 days, it’s possible a refund may take longer. If the IRS needs more information to process a tax return, the agency will contact the taxpayer by mail. Taxpayers should also consider the time it takes for the banks to post the refund to the taxpayer’s account. People waiting for a refund in the mail should plan for the time it takes a check to arrive.
Where’s My Refund? must be wrong because a refund amount is less than expected
There are several factors that could cause a tax refund to be larger or smaller than expected. Situations that could decrease a refund include:
• The taxpayer made math errors or mistakes
• The taxpayer owes federal taxes for a prior year
• The taxpayer owes state taxes, child support, student loans or other delinquent federal non-tax obligations
• The IRS holds a portion of the refund while it reviews an item claimed on the return
The IRS will mail the taxpayer a letter of explanation if these adjustments are made. Some taxpayers may also receive a letter from the Department of Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service if their refund was reduced to offset certain financial obligations.
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2 million more Economic Impact Payments disbursed under the American Rescue Plan; total reaches approximately 161 million as payments continue
WASHINGTON — Today, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service announced they are disbursing nearly 2 million payments in the sixth batch of Economic Impact Payments from the American Rescue Plan.
Today’s announcement brings the total disbursed so far to approximately 161 million payments, with a total value of more than $379 billion, since these payments began rolling out to Americans in batches as announced on March 12.
The sixth batch of payments began processing on Friday, April 16, with an official payment date of April 21, with some people receiving direct payments in their accounts earlier as provisional or pending deposits. Here is additional information on this batch of payments:
• In total, this batch includes nearly 2 million payments with a value of nearly $3.4 billion.
• Nearly 700,000 payments, with a value of more than $1.3 billion, went to eligible individuals for whom the IRS previously did not have information to issue an Economic Impact Payment but who recently filed a tax return.
• This batch also includes additional ongoing supplemental payments for people who earlier this year received payments based on their 2019 tax returns but are eligible for a new or larger payment based on their recently processed 2020 tax returns. This batch included nearly 700,000 of these “plus-up” payments, with a value of nearly $1.2 billion.
• Another 600,000 payments went to Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income recipients, including those with foreign addresses.
• Overall, this sixth batch of payments contains about 900,000 direct deposit payments (with a total value of $1.5 billion) and nearly 1.1 million paper check payments (with a total value of nearly $1.8 billion).
Additional information is available on the first five batches of Economic Impact Payments from the American Rescue Plan, which began processing on April 9, April 2, March 26, March 19 and March 12.
The IRS will continue to make Economic Impact Payments on a weekly basis. Ongoing payments will be sent to eligible individuals for whom the IRS previously did not have information to issue a payment but who recently filed a tax return, as well to people who qualify for “plus-up” payments.
Special reminder for those who don’t normally file a tax return
Although payments are automatic for most people, the IRS continues to urge people who don’t normally file a tax return and haven’t received Economic Impact Payments to file a 2020 tax return 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. Filing a 2020 tax return will also assist the IRS in determining whether someone is eligible for an advance payment of the 2021 Child Tax Credit, which will begin to be disbursed this summer.
For example, some federal benefits recipients may need to file a 2020 tax return – even if they don’t usually file – to provide information the IRS needs to send payments for a qualifying dependent. Eligible individuals in this group should file a 2020 tax return as quickly as possible to be considered for an additional payment for their qualifying dependents.
People who don’t normally file a tax return and don’t receive federal benefits may qualify for these Economic Impact Payments. This includes those experiencing homelessness, the rural poor and others. Individuals who didn’t get a first or second round Economic Impact Payment or got less than the full amounts may be eligible for the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit, but they’ll need to file a 2020 tax return. See the special section on IRS.gov: Claiming the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit if you aren’t required to file a tax return.
Free tax return preparation is available for qualifying people.
The IRS reminds taxpayers that the income levels in this new round of Economic Impact Payments have changed. This means that some people won’t be eligible for the third payment even if they received a first or second Economic Impact Payment or claimed a 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit. Payments will begin to be reduced for individuals making $75,000 or above in Adjusted Gross Income ($150,000 for married filing jointly). The payments end at $80,000 for individuals ($160,000 for married filing jointly); people with Adjusted Gross Incomes above these levels are ineligible for a payment.
Individuals can check the Get My Payment tool on IRS.gov to see the payment status of these payments. Additional information on Economic Impact Payments is available on IRS.gov.
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IRS suspends requirement to repay excess advance payments of the 2020 Premium Tax Credit; those claiming net Premium Tax Credit must file Form 8962
WASHINGTON — The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 suspends the requirement that taxpayers increase their tax liability by all or a portion of their excess advance payments of the Premium Tax Credit (excess APTC) for tax year 2020. A taxpayer’s excess APTC is the amount by which the taxpayer’s advance payments of the Premium Tax Credit (APTC) exceed his or her Premium Tax Credit (PTC).
The Internal Revenue Service announced today that taxpayers with excess APTC for 2020 are not required to file Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit, or report an excess advance Premium Tax Credit repayment on their 2020 Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR, Schedule 2, Line 2, when they file.
Eligible taxpayers may claim a PTC for health insurance coverage in a qualified health plan purchased through a Health Insurance Marketplace. Taxpayers use Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit to figure the amount of their PTC and reconcile it with their APTC. This computation lets taxpayers know whether they must increase their tax liability by all or a portion of their excess APTC, called an excess advance Premium Tax Credit repayment, or may claim a net PTC.
Taxpayers can check with their tax professional or use tax software to figure the amount of allowable PTC and reconcile it with APTC received using the information from Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement.
The process remains unchanged for taxpayers claiming a net PTC for 2020. They must file Form 8962 when they file their 2020 tax return. See the Instructions for Form 8962 for more information. Taxpayers claiming a net PTC should respond to an IRS notice asking for more information to finish processing their tax return.
Taxpayers who have already filed their 2020 tax return and who have excess APTC for 2020 do not need to file an amended tax return or contact the IRS. The IRS will reduce the excess APTC repayment amount to zero with no further action needed by the taxpayer. The IRS will reimburse people who have already repaid any excess advance Premium Tax Credit on their 2020 tax return. Taxpayers who received a letter about a missing Form 8962 should disregard the letter if they have excess APTC for 2020. The IRS will process tax returns without Form 8962 for tax year 2020 by reducing the excess advance premium tax credit repayment amount to zero.
Again, IRS is taking steps to reimburse people who filed Form 8962, reported, and paid an excess advance Premium Tax Credit repayment amount with their 2020 tax return before the recent legislative changes were made. Taxpayers in this situation should not file an amended return solely to get a refund of this amount. The IRS will provide more details on IRS.gov. There is no need to file an amended tax return or contact the IRS.
As a reminder, this change applies only to reconciling tax year 2020 APTC. Taxpayers who received the benefit of APTC prior to 2020 must file Form 8962 to reconcile their APTC and PTC for the pre-2020 year when they file their federal income tax return even if they otherwise are not required to file a tax return for that year. The IRS continues to process prior year tax returns and correspond for missing information. If the IRS sends a letter about a 2019 Form 8962, we need more information from the taxpayer to finish processing their tax return. Taxpayers should respond to the letter so that the IRS can finish processing the tax return and, if applicable, issue any refund the taxpayer may be due.
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