Posted on 01/14/25
| News Source: Pikesville Patch
Annapolis, MD - Jan. 14, 2025 - Residents of Maryland who didn’t receive COVID stimulus payments in 2021 will automatically receive up to $1,400 from the IRS in the coming weeks.
The IRS said last month that it is distributing about $2.4 billion to about 1 million taxpayers who failed to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns. People who missed one of the COVID stimulus payments or had received less than the full amount were able to claim the credit.
“Looking at our internal data, we realized that one million taxpayers overlooked claiming this complex credit when they were actually eligible,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement.
Eligible Maryland residents don’t have to do anything to claim the money — unless they’re among a small group who didn’t make enough money to file a 2021 return. Those individuals may still get a payment but will have to file a return. The IRS addresses eligibility for the 2021 stimulus check on a dedicated web page.
Here’s what Maryland taxpayers need to know:
Most taxpayers eligible for Recovery Impact Payments, as the stimulus checks are formally known, have already received them.
The special payments announced by the IRS are being sent to those taxpayers who filed a 2021 tax return but left the data field for the Recovery Rebate Credit blank or they filled it out as $0 when they were actually eligible for the credit.
The IRS payments should start landing in people’s bank accounts and mailboxes in late January. Payments will be sent to the bank account listed on the taxpayer’s 2023 income tax return or to the address on file with the IRS.
Payments will vary, but the maximum amount will be $1,400 per individual. The IRS has posted information online about eligibility and how the payment was calculated. The agency also is notifying taxpayers if they qualify.
You still might be able to receive the money. However, taxpayers need to file a tax return and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit by the April 15, 2025 deadline.
Those who don’t normally file income tax returns, or who received no or minimal income from a job, business or any other source, still must file a 2021 return, according to the IRS.
More than $814 billion in pandemic aid was distributed in three rounds, based on the amounts that taxpayers received on their income, tax filing status and number of children or qualifying dependents.
In March 2020, eligible individuals received up to $1,200 per income tax filer and $500 per child under the CARES Act. In December 2020, eligible individuals received up to $600 per income tax filer and $600 per child under the Consolidated Appropriations Act. In March 2021, eligible individuals received up to $1,400 per income tax filer and $1,400 per child under the American Rescue Plan Act.