May 26, 2021
Candace J. Dixon
The Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service announced they have disbursed over 1.8 million additional Economic Impact Payments under the American Rescue Plan, bringing the total disbursed so far to nearly 167 million payments representing a total value of approximately $391 billion since these payments began rolling out to Americans in batches on March 12.
Here is more information on the last two weeks of payments, which include those with official payment dates through May 26:
This includes more than 1.8 million payments with a value of more than $3.5 billion in total.
Over 900,000 payments with a value of approximately $1.9 billion went to eligible individuals for whom the IRS previously did not have information to issue an Economic Impact Payment, but who recently filed a tax return.
This also includes additional ongoing supplemental payments to people who received payments earlier this year based on their 2019 tax returns but are eligible for a new or larger payment based on their recently processed 2020 tax returns. Over the last two weeks, there were more than 900,000 of these “plus-up” payments, with a value of more than $1.6 billion. In total, the IRS has made nearly 7 million of these supplemental payments this year.
Overall, the last two weeks of payments contain more than 900,000 direct deposit payments (with a total value over $1.6 billion), with the remainder sent as paper check payments.
The IRS will continue to make Economic Impact Payments on a weekly basis. Payments will be sent to eligible individuals for whom the IRS previously did not have information to issue a payment but who recently filed a tax return, as well to people who qualify for “plus-up” payments.
Reminder for those who don't normally file a tax return
Although payments are automatic for most people, people who don’t normally file a tax return and haven’t received Economic Impact Payments need to file a 2020 tax return to get all the benefits they’re entitled to under the law, including tax credits such as the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the Earned Income Tax Credit. Filing a 2020 tax return will also assist the IRS in determining whether someone is eligible for an advance payment of the 2021 Child Tax Credit, which will begin to be disbursed this summer.
For example, some federal benefits recipients may need to file a 2020 tax return even if they don't usually file to provide information the IRS needs to send payments for a qualifying dependent. Eligible individuals in this group should file a 2020 tax return as soon as possible to be considered for an additional payment for their qualifying dependents.
People who don't normally file a tax return and don't receive federal benefits may qualify for these Economic Impact Payments. This includes those experiencing homelessness, the rural poor, and others. Individuals who didn't get a first or second round Economic Impact Payment or got less than the full amounts may be eligible for the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit, but they’ll need to file a 2020 tax return. See the special section on IRS.gov: Claiming the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit if you aren't required to file a tax return.
The income levels in this third round of Economic Impact Payments have changed. Some people won't be eligible for the third payment even if they received a first or second Economic Impact Payment or claimed a 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit. Payments begin to be reduced for individuals with Adjusted Gross Income of $75,000 or more ($150,000 for married filing jointly). The payments end at $80,000 for individuals ($160,000 for married filing jointly); people with Adjusted Gross Incomes above these levels are ineligible for a payment.
Additional Resources:
Get My Payment tool to see the payment status of these payments.
Additional information on Economic Impact Payments
Free tax return preparation is available for qualifying people.