Remember the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021? That was the third economic stimulus package that was passed in the middle of tax season last year. Now, a year later, taxpayers who got third-round Economic Impact Payments (EIP) were supposed to have received IRS Letter 6475 detailing the amount in order to report it on their 2021 tax returns.
Well guess what? That hasn’t happened, and letters now aren’t expected to arrive before March, so we’re here to help you get us the information we need to avoid delaying your returns.
Keep reading to find out what to do.
Third Round Stimulus: How Much Did You Get?
It’s been almost a year since these payments were issued, so it’s not surprising that most people aren’t sure of the exact amount they received, but that’s what we need to know to process your return. It’s worth noting that we have had some clients tell us they didn’t receive any third round EIP, only to find out that they were mistaken when taking a second look. So it’s definitely worth doing a little legwork now to avoid a lot of potential headache later.
In the absence of Letter 6475, there are a number ways you can find the amount of your third Economic Impact Payments. Here are your options:
- Locate Your Notice 1444-C, Your Third Economic Impact Payment. These letters were sent from the IRS in April 2021, after the last stimulus payments were made. If you are organized enough to have tucked this letter into your 2021 tax folder last spring, it will show you the total amount of the third payment, as well as “plus-up” payments for those who were eligible. It looks like this:
- Request Your 2021 Account Transcript, which can be done several ways:
- online or by mail using Get Transcript on the IRS website.
- by calling the automated phone transcript service at 800-908-9946
- by submitting Form 4506-T
- Check Your Bank Statements from March or April 2021 (or later). If you had direct deposit, the EIP should appear credited to your account in late March or April. If you received a paper check and procrastinated before make the deposit, you should look at the following months.
- Access or Create a Personal Online IRS Account. If you have already created an online account at IRS.gov, once you sign in, you’ll find the information on the Tax Records tab/page under the section “Economic Impact Payment Information”. If you don’t have an online account, it’s not a bad idea to create one, just know it will take some time, and require you to also have or create an “ID.me” account for verification. Learn more…
So, if you are 100% certain that you either received the full amount of EIP ($1400 each for you and your dependents) OR, were above the threshold and didn’t get anything, a verbal confirmation either way should suffice. Otherwise, some proof of the exact amount is the only way to be sure your return won’t go to the back of the line, resulting in a probable delay of six months or more for the correction to be processed.
When is Tax Day 2022?
The deadline for filing your Federal Taxes this year is Monday, April 18, 2022. This is because even though April 15th is a Friday, it is also Emancipation Day, which is celebrated in Washington, DC, causing all businesses and government offices to close.
Residents of Massachusetts and Maine have until Tuesday, April 19, 2022, in observance of the state’s Patriots Day holiday.
