Are we required to pay back the 2021 Third Stimulus check with our 2025 tax refund?

You don't need to worry - you do NOT have to pay back the Third Stimulus check (also called the Economic Impact Payment) when filing your taxes. These payments were not loans - they were advance payments of a special tax credit called the Recovery Rebate Credit. The Third Stimulus payments of $1,400 per eligible person were issued in 2021, and they were completely tax-free. They don't count as taxable income, and they're not considered a loan that needs to be repaid. Your brother-in-law is confusing this with something else. The only scenario where stimulus money might affect your refund is if you were eligible for a stimulus payment but never received it - in that case, you would have claimed it as the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2021 tax return (which you would have filed in 2022). But that's about getting additional money you were owed, not paying anything back.

I was in the exact same situation - my cousin had me panicking about having to pay back the stimulus money! I was stressing for days until I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my previous tax transcript and my stimulus payment records. The tool confirmed that the Third Stimulus was indeed a tax credit, not a loan, and explained exactly how it appeared in my tax history. Their system actually showed me the line items from my 2021 return and explained how the stimulus was already properly accounted for. It was such a relief to have clear confirmation! The best part was uploading my documents and getting a personalized explanation rather than trying to interpret generic IRS language.

Just wanted to follow up about that taxr.ai site - I ended up trying it despite my initial security concerns. I uploaded my old tax transcript and specifically asked about the Third Stimulus and potential repayment. The analysis confirmed what others here said - the payments were not loans and don't need to be repaid. What I found super helpful was how it showed exactly where on my 2021 return the stimulus was accounted for, and explained why it doesn't affect future tax years. Gave me peace of mind to have something I could actually show my husband who was also worried about this. Definitely cleared up the confusion!

If you want definitive confirmation directly from the IRS about the Third Stimulus check, good luck getting through on their phone lines - I spent DAYS trying. Finally used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS representative. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed exactly what everyone here is saying - the Third Stimulus checks ($1,400 payments) were advance payments of a tax credit and do NOT need to be repaid under any circumstances. It was worth getting the official word directly from the IRS to shut down these rumors once and for all. Saved me hours of redial frustration!

I need to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I had an unrelated tax question about an amended return that's been stuck in processing. The service actually did exactly what it claimed - called the IRS repeatedly for me and then called me once they got through. I was connected directly to an IRS representative who confirmed I was speaking with the actual IRS. While discussing my amended return, I also asked about the Third Stimulus check repayment rumors, and they confirmed what everyone here has said - those payments were NOT loans and do NOT need to be repaid under any circumstances. Saved me hours of frustration and got my amended return issue resolved too. Definitely not a scam like I initially thought.

Your brother-in-law might be confusing the Third Stimulus with the Advanced Child Tax Credit payments that went out monthly in the second half of 2021. Those DID require reconciliation when filing taxes, and some people who received advances but then didn't qualify based on their full-year income did have to pay some back (though there were protection thresholds). But the $1,400 stimulus checks (Economic Impact Payments) were completely different and do NOT need to be paid back. Maybe ask him if that's what he's thinking of?

Wait does anybody know if this also applies to the first and second stimulus payments too? We got all 3 rounds but now I'm paranoid about all of them lol

Just to add some reassurance to what everyone else has said - I work as a tax preparer and can confirm that the Third Stimulus payments ($1,400 per person) absolutely do NOT need to be repaid. We've had countless clients ask about this same rumor, and I've had to explain repeatedly that these were advance payments of the Recovery Rebate Credit, not loans. The confusion often comes from people mixing up the stimulus payments with other programs like the Advanced Child Tax Credit or Paycheck Protection Program loans (which did have forgiveness requirements). But the stimulus checks were completely different - they were essentially prepayments of tax credits you were entitled to receive. Your brother-in-law is definitely mixing this up with something else. You can safely budget for your refund without worrying about any stimulus repayment!