Coronavirus stimulus check: IRS has new tool to help you claim missing money

June 18, 2021 3 min read

This story originally appeared on ValueWalk

The IRS is likely in the final stages of sending out the third stimulus check as the agency is now primarily sending out the “plus up” payments. There are, however, still many who haven’t yet gotten the full payment they were eligible for under the first and second stimulus round, approved last year. Now, the IRS has come up with a new tool to help such people to claim their missing coronavirus stimulus check amounts from the first and second round of stimulus payments.

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New IRS tool to claim missing coronavirus stimulus check

The IRS only recently came up with this tool to help people claim the expanded Child Tax Credit money. People are set to start getting the expanded CTC in their bank accounts as early as July 15.

This IRS tool, however, isn’t only for claiming the Child Tax Credit. As per the IRS, people can also use this tool to claim the money from the first or second stimulus payments.

“If you did not get the full amounts of the first and second Economic Impact Payment, you may use this tool..,” the agency says.

However, not all who missed the payment in the first and second round are allowed to use this tool. The IRS says only those who aren’t required to “file a 2020 tax return, didn’t file and don’t plan to” can use the tool. Also, those who “want to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and get your third Economic Impact Payment” can use this tool.

The IRS has also come up with a list of who can’t use this tool. It includes those who have filed or plan to file their 2020 tax return, as well as those who claimed all their dependents in a 2019 tax return, or have provided the information last year using the Non-Filers tool. To get more details on who can’t use this tool, visit this link.

What information do people need to provide?

Once users provide the needed information in the tool, the IRS says it will automatically determine their eligibility, both for the Child Tax Credit and the missing stimulus payment from the first two rounds.

“After giving us your information and we determine you’re eligible, you do not need to do anything to receive the advance payments,” the IRS says.

You will have to enter the following information in the tool: Name, Current mailing address, Email address, Date of birth, Social Security numbers (or other taxpayer IDs) for you and your dependents, Bank account number, and Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN), if you have one.

This is a good opportunity for those who need to claim their money if they missed, or didn’t get the full amount, of the stimulus checks in the first two rounds. A point to note is that people can only use this tool to claim a missing payment from the first two rounds, and not the third. Since the third round of payments are still ongoing, the IRS will likely open the tool up for the third round later.