CNBC Grow: “1.2 million Americans haven’t claimed their stimulus checks, IRS says: Here’s how to get your money”
CNBC Grow, May 13, 2021 — In today’s article by Shawn M. Carter, he writes: “While some Americans hold out hope for a potential fourth stimulus check, others still haven’t collected their money from the first round of payments. In response to a Freedom of Information Act from Newsweek, the IRS revealed that roughly 1.2 million people never cashed in on the $1,200 payments to Americans it offered as part of the CARES Act in spring 2020. That adds up to $2.1 billion of payments that weren’t disbursed, either because the intended recipients didn’t deposit their checks or because the checks were returned to the U.S. Treasury.
For insight, he turned to Marguerita Cheng, CFP®, for information on what you should do if the IRS website can’t help.
Rita explains: If you don’t get the answer you need online, the problem may be more nuanced. For starters, Americans who haven’t filed federal taxes in a while — even if they weren’t required to do so — are likely to have had their checks held up.
“Many Americans who typically do not file a federal income tax return are still eligible to receive an Economic Impact Payment,” says Marguerita Cheng, CFP, CRPC, of Blue Ocean Global Wealth. However, in most cases, they would have needed to register with the IRS to receive a stimulus check, Cheng says. “This group includes those who filed a federal income tax return in 2018 or 2019.”