Questions and Answers about the Third Economic Impact Payment — Topic G: Receiving My Payment

The IRS will be issuing the third round of payments throughout 2021. If you didn't receive one yet, it doesn't mean you won't. Keep in mind that that the third Economic Impact Payment is based on your 2020 tax return or if your 2020 tax return is not processed when determining your eligibility, your 2019 tax return or information you entered on the Non-Filers tool on IRS.gov last year. If you did not file a 2020 or 2019 return but were an eligible federal benefit recipient, your payment is based on you being an eligible federal benefit recipient.

IRS will also issue additional payments to those who received a third payment based on a 2019 tax return and who are eligible for an additional amount based on their 2020 tax return.

Payment amounts varied based on income, filing status and family size. For more information about eligibility, see the Eligibility section.

• If you filed a 2020 tax return, the IRS used the income, filing status and qualifying dependents from that return to calculate the amount of the third Economic Impact Payment issued to you. If we had not processed your 2020 tax return when we determined eligibility for the third Economic Impact Payment, we used your 2019 tax information. If you did not file a 2019 tax return, we used the information you entered into the Non-Filers tool last year. 

• If you are a federal benefit recipient and did not file a 2020 or 2019 tax return or enter information into the Non-Filers tool in 2020, your third payment may have been $1,400 and issued based on information we received from the Social Security Administration or the Department of Veterans Affairs. This $1,400 payment did not include any amounts for your spouse or qualifying dependents. If you file a 2020 tax return, we will review the information about your spouse and dependents when we process it and may send you an additional payment beyond what you already received if you qualify for more based on your 2020 tax information.

• When you file your 2020 tax return, you may also be eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit for your spouse and any qualifying children under age 17 at the end of 2020. See the special section on IRS.gov about claiming the Recovery Rebate Credit if you aren't required to file a tax return.

If you don't normally file a tax return but you need to file a federal tax return for 2020 and have no income or income of $72,000 or less, you can file your Federal tax return electronically for free through the IRS Free File Program.

If you don't receive the third Economic Impact Payment or additional payment, or received less than the full amounts this year, you may be eligible to claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit. If you are eligible for the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit you must file a 2021 tax return next year to claim it.

No.

No.

No, unless there is an exigent circumstance. If you think the IRS inadvertently served a levy on an account into which your Economic Impact Payment was deposited, contact the IRS within 21 days at the phone number listed on the levy notice to let the IRS know that it has levied on your Economic Impact Payment.

If the account was closed or no longer active, the bank is required to return the deposit. Your payment will be issued as a check to the address we have on file for you. This is generally the address on your most recent tax return or as updated through the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Possibly. When there is no banking information available, before issuing a U.S Treasury check or EIP Card, Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service has provided IRS account information from agencies issuing benefit payments including the Office of Personnel Management, Railroad Retirement Board, Social Security Administration, Thrift Savings Plan, and Department of Veterans Affairs. The banking information can be either where a U.S. Government payment was sent or an account where an individual paid the U.S. Government.

Banking information is received in a number of ways:

• Your bank account information is obtained from the most recently filed tax return or information entered in Get My Payment. You cannot change your account information.
• If you haven't filed a 2020 or 2019 tax return and you received SSA, RRB, SSI, or VA benefits, you will receive the third payment as a direct deposit, on your Direct Express Card, or by mail, just as you would normally receive your benefits.

When there is no banking information available, before issuing a U.S Treasury check or EIP Card, Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service has provided IRS account information from agencies issuing benefit payments including the Office of Personnel Management, Railroad Retirement Board, Social Security Administration, Thrift Savings Plan, and Department of Veterans Affairs. The banking information can be either where a U.S. Government payment was sent or an account where an individual paid the U.S. Government.

If your account is closed or a direct deposit was returned from your bank for any other reason, the IRS will reissue the payment as a U.S. Treasury check or an EIP Card to the address we have on file for you. This is generally the address on your most recent tax return or as updated through the United States Postal Service (USPS).

In some cases, married taxpayers who file a joint tax return may get their third payment as two separate payments; half may come as a direct deposit and the other half will be mailed to the address we have on file. This is generally the address on the most recent tax return or as updated through the United States Postal Service (USPS).

The second half may come the same week or within weeks of the first half. Each taxpayer on the tax return should check Get My Payment separately using their own Social Security number to see the status of their payments. Please continue to monitor IRS.gov for additional information and updates.

The third round of stimulus payments provided under the American Recovery Plan Act is not exempt from garnishment by non-federal creditors under federal law. 

Some states and financial institutions have chosen to act to protect these payments, however, and these payments are still protected from offset by the federal government. For example, if a taxpayer has a judgment against them obtained by a private party but also owes assessed federal taxes, the IRS will not subject the payment to offset with respect to the federal taxes. Depending on where the taxpayer lives or banks, however, it is possible that the payment would be subject to garnishment due to the judgment obtained by a private party.  

See this FAQ for more information about offsets and federal tax liability.

If you are unable to cash the check and must return the payment to the IRS, the payment will be credited back to your account, but cannot be reissued as a direct deposit. If the IRS receives your payment back, you will need to claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit when you file your 2021 tax return, if eligible based on your 2021 filing. The IRS can only deposit to a U.S. affiliated bank account.

If you don't have a U.S. affiliated bank to cash a check or receive a deposit, before returning the payment, visit the FDIC website to locate a bank or for more information.

See Returning the Economic Impact Payment for instructions about returning the check.

Yes. If we determined your eligibility and amount for a third EIP using your 2020 information but you didn’t qualify for it or received less than the full amount because of your 2020 AGI, we’ll determine if reducing your AGI for the unemployment exclusion now makes you eligible for a third EIP or for more EIP. If so, we’ll issue your payment at a later date by direct deposit or as a paper check.

For additional information about the unemployment compensation exclusion, see Tax Treatment of Unemployment Compensation.