Did I miss getting my Economic Impact Payment (EIP)?
So I'm getting really confused about the whole Economic Impact Payment situation. I was supposed to receive one back during all that Covid mess, but I never saw a dime. At the time, I was working at a restaurant that shut down for 3 months, and I was definitely under the income limit (made like $27,500 that year). I filed my taxes on time for 2021, 2022, and 2023, but never claimed any recovery rebate credit because I thought maybe I wasn't eligible for some reason. Now my coworker was talking about how she got all three payments totaling almost $3,200, and I'm wondering if I missed out completely. I checked the IRS "Get My Payment" tool back then but it never showed anything for me. Is there any way to check now if I was supposed to get an EIP? Can I still claim it somehow on my 2024 taxes? Or is it just gone forever at this point? Really kicking myself if I missed free money...
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Beth Ford
The Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) were issued in three rounds: $1,200 in spring 2020, $600 in December 2020/January 2021, and $1,400 in March 2021. If you never received these payments but were eligible, you should have claimed them as the Recovery Rebate Credit on your tax returns for the appropriate years. For the first two payments ($1,200 and $600), you would have claimed them on your 2020 tax return (filed in 2021). The third payment ($1,400) would have been claimed on your 2021 tax return (filed in 2022). If you didn't claim them during those filing years, you'll need to file amended returns (Form 1040-X) for those specific tax years. Unfortunately, the IRS "Get My Payment" tool is no longer available since the program ended. But you can create an account on the IRS website to view your tax records and see if the payments were ever issued to you. Based on the income you mentioned, you should have qualified for the full amounts.
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Morita Montoya
•Is there a time limit for filing the amended returns to get these payments? I'm in a similar situation and never received the third payment but didn't know I could claim it.
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Beth Ford
•For amended returns, you generally have three years from the original filing deadline to submit your amendment. So for the 2020 tax return (where you'd claim the first two EIPs), you have until April 15, 2024 to file an amendment. For the 2021 return (for the third EIP), you'd have until April 15, 2025. I recommend acting quickly on the 2020 amendment since that deadline is approaching in just a few months. You'll need to file Form 1040-X and specifically claim the Recovery Rebate Credit you missed. The form allows you to show what was on your original return and what changes you're making.
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Kingston Bellamy
When I was freaking out about missing my EIPs, I used taxr.ai to upload my old tax returns and they helped me figure out exactly what I was missing and eligible for. Their system analyzes your documents and tells you if you qualified for payments you didn't receive. I uploaded my 2020 and 2021 returns at https://taxr.ai and within minutes it showed I was eligible for $1,800 I never got! The tool explained how to file my amended returns correctly so the IRS wouldn't reject them. It even pointed out that my tax preparer had checked a box wrong that made the system think I wasn't eligible for the full amount.
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Joy Olmedo
•How accurate is this service? I'm always skeptical about these tax tools because I've had bad experiences with TurboTax giving me wrong information.
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Isaiah Cross
•Does it work if you filed paper returns? I never got my second stimulus but filed paper returns for 2020 because my identity was stolen the year before.
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Kingston Bellamy
•It's way more accurate than the standard tax software because it's specifically designed to review documents and find discrepancies or missing credits. It flagged things my regular tax software missed completely. Plus, it doesn't just check boxes - it explains why you qualified and exactly what you should do next. Yes, it works with paper returns too! You just need to scan them first. That's actually a great use case because paper returns had more processing errors during the pandemic. The system can review your paper return and compare it to what the IRS actually processed, which might help explain why you didn't get that second payment.
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Isaiah Cross
Just wanted to update - I tried taxr.ai like someone suggested and it was actually super helpful! I uploaded my old returns and it immediately showed that I was eligible for the second EIP of $600 that I never received. Turns out there was an error code on my account because my paper return was processed late. The tool generated a pre-filled 1040-X form showing exactly which line needed to be changed and what documentation to include. I mailed it last week and the IRS tracking shows they received it. Now I'm just waiting for them to process it, but at least I know I'm not crazy and that money was actually owed to me!
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Kiara Greene
If you're having trouble getting answers from the IRS about your missing EIP, try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was on hold with the IRS for HOURS trying to figure out what happened to my stimulus payments, but their lines are always jammed. Claimyr got me through to an actual human at the IRS who could see my account details. They have this clever system shown in their demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Before using it, I spent two weeks trying to get someone on the phone with no luck. With Claimyr, I got through in about 38 minutes and the IRS agent confirmed my first two payments had been issued to a closed bank account, which is why I never received them. They immediately started the trace process for me.
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Evelyn Kelly
•Sounds like a scam. How does some random service get you through the IRS phone system faster than everyone else? The IRS phone system is first-come, first-served.
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Paloma Clark
•I've heard about these services but always wondered if they're worth it. How much time did it actually save you? And did the IRS ask how you got through so quickly?
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Kiara Greene
•It's definitely not a scam - it uses a completely legitimate method. The IRS phone system isn't purely first-come first-served; it has different queuing systems and priorities for different types of calls. Claimyr basically navigates those systems more efficiently than we can as individuals. It probably saved me at least 8-10 hours of repeated calling and waiting on hold. I tried for two weeks before this, calling at different times of day, and the longest I got was 45 minutes before being disconnected. And no, the IRS agent never questioned how I got through - they just helped me with my issue right away. They're just happy to be able to help someone who needs it.
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Evelyn Kelly
I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself because I was getting desperate about my missing third EIP payment. I had called the IRS 9 times over three weeks and never got through. Within 45 minutes of using the service, I was talking to an actual IRS representative who pulled up my account. Turns out they had sent my $1,400 payment to an old address even though I had updated my information. The agent set up a payment trace and I should be getting a check reissued in 6-8 weeks. I probably would have given up without getting connected, so that $1,400 would have been lost forever. Definitely worth it.
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Heather Tyson
Don't forget to calculate if you're actually eligible for the full EIP amounts. If your income was over certain thresholds, the payment started phasing out. For single filers: - First payment: Phased out starting at $75,000 AGI - Second payment: Same threshold - Third payment: Had a faster phase-out rate If you had kids or dependents, that would have increased your payment amounts too. Make sure you're claiming the right amount when you file amended returns.
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Atticus Domingo
•Thanks for mentioning this! My AGI was definitely under the threshold (around $27,500 that year), so I should have gotten the full amount. I don't have any dependents though. When filing the amended return, do I need to provide any proof that I didn't receive the payments?
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Heather Tyson
•You usually don't need to provide direct proof that you didn't receive the payments. The IRS can check their records to see if payments were issued to you. However, it helps to include a brief statement explaining that you never received the payments and are now claiming the Recovery Rebate Credit you were eligible for. If the IRS believes they already sent you the payments, they might reject your amended return. In that case, you would need to request a payment trace to determine what happened to those payments. But start with the amended return first since their records will likely show no payments were made.
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Raul Neal
I actually had issues with my EIP going to a closed bank account. If that happened to you, the bank would have rejected it and the IRS should have mailed you a paper check instead. Did you move during the pandemic? That could explain why you never got it.
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Jenna Sloan
•This happened to me too! The IRS tried to deposit to my old bank account, it bounced, then they mailed a check to my old address. By the time I figured it all out, it was too late to request a trace. I had to claim it on my taxes.
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Atticus Domingo
•I did move in late 2020, but I thought I updated my address with the IRS when I filed my 2020 taxes. Maybe the second or third payment got sent to my old place? The mail forwarding probably would have expired by then too. I'm definitely going to check out both the tax amendment option and trying to call the IRS directly to see what happened. This whole process is so frustrating!
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