When have stimulus checks been issued?
There have been three stimulus checks authorized by the U.S. government. Most of the money for the first two checks has already been paid out. The IRS began distributing the third payment the weekend of March 13, 2021. Payments for the third check are expected to continue through April.
Are you entitled to a $1,400 check in 2022?
The American Rescue Plan Act authorized payments of $1,400 per adult and $1,400 per dependent. President Joe Biden signed the Act into law at the end of March and the vast majority of Americans have already received the full amount of stimulus money due.
However, people who had a baby or otherwise added a new dependent may not have received all the money that they were supposed to get this year. The problem is, the IRS determined how many dependents were entitled to the $1,400 payments by reviewing past tax returns. And if you added a dependent only in 2021, then this information would not have been available to the IRS when your payment was calculated.
If you missed out on a payment for any new dependents you added in 2021, you can claim $1,400 per dependent in 2022. So, for example, if you added twin babies to your family this year, you would be entitled to $2,800 for them. You’ll simply have to claim the money by filing a tax return. The payments that were sent out were an advance on a tax credit, so the tax credit should be available to you when you file your 1040 form with the IRS for 2021.
The IRS will begin accepting tax returns in late January of 2022, so the sooner you file your return for 2021, the faster you can get the $1,400 payment that you’re owed.
You do need to meet the requirements for the stimulus check under the American Rescue Plan Act, though. This includes falling within the income limits. The full payment is available to single tax filers with income under $75,000 and married joint filers with an income under $150,000. Payments phase out once income exceeds these thresholds, and single filers with an income above $80,000 or married joint filers with an income above $160,000 aren’t eligible.
Stimulus check 1, 2020
- March 27: The CARES Act, which authorized the payment, was signed into law.
- April 11: The IRS began making direct deposits to those with bank information on file. Most were delivered by April 15.
- April 20: Paper stimulus checks started going out at a rate of around 5 million per week. Payments continued through early summer.
- End of April: Beneficiaries of certain benefits, such as Social Security retirement benefits, began receiving payments at the end of April via direct deposit.
- May: SSI beneficiaries began receiving checks, as did Social Security beneficiaries who use representative payees to manage their benefits.
- May 18: IRS started to send payments via prepaid debit card, also known as Economic Impact Payment Cards.
- June and July: Eligible individuals in U.S. territories started to receive stimulus payments.
- August and September: Individuals who used the Get My Payment tool to report eligible dependents prior to May 17 began to receive checks if they’d missed out on dependent funds.
- Mid-September: Individuals who lost payments because spouses owed past-due child support began receiving catch-up stimulus checks.
- Nov. 21: Extended deadline for non-filers to use online tool to register and get their stimulus payment by Dec. 31, 2020.
Stimulus check 2, 2021
The timeline for the distribution of the second stimulus check was much shorter. Congress approved the coronavirus relief bill on Dec. 21, 2020 and it was signed into law on Dec. 28. The first direct deposits were made Dec. 29, and the first paper stimulus checks were put in the mail on Dec. 30.
The deadline for the IRS to provide the second check via mail, direct deposit, or debit card was Jan. 15, 2021. Anyone who did not receive their second check by Jan. 15 will have to file a tax return to get it.
Stimulus check 3, 2021
Direct deposits for the third check began the weekend of March 13. The IRS is expected to begin mailing physical checks by March 29 and will begin sending Economic Impact Payment cards (EIP cards) the week of April 5.