The IRS is required to mail a notice to each recipient's last known address after issuing each of the three Economic Impact Payments. The notices provide information about the amount of the payment, how it was made and how to report any payment that wasn't received.
Some people may receive multiple notices regarding each payment. Most people can just file the notice with their tax records and won’t need to contact the IRS or take any further action.
Here are details about each notice and what action you may need to take:
Notice 1444, Your Economic Impact Payment. The IRS mailed this notice within 15 days after the first payment was issued in 2020. Some people received another Notice 1444 if the IRS corrected or issued more than one payment in the first round. If you received a Notice 1444 but did not receive their your first payment, you should review the IRS Questions and Answers about the Second Economic Impact Payment for instructions on what to do if your first payment is lost, stolen, destroyed or has not been received, and keep the letter with your tax year 2020 records. • Notice 1444-A, You May Need to Act to Claim Your Payment. The IRS mailed this letter last year to people who typically aren't required to file federal income tax returns but may have been eligible for the first Economic Impact Payment. People who didn't get a first and second Economic Impact Payment or got less than the full amounts may be eligible to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return even if they don't usually file a tax return.
• Notice 1444-B, Your Second Economic Impact Payment. The law that authorized the second payment gave the IRS more time to mail Notice 1444-B after the second payments were issued. This means people likely received their second payment several weeks before Notice 1444-B arrived. If you received Notice 1444-B but didn’t receive the second payment, you should read the IRS Questions and Answers about the Second Economic Impact Payment about what to do if your second payment is lost, stolen, destroyed or has not been received, and keep the letter with your tax year 2020 records.
• Notice 1444-C, Your 2021 Economic Impact Payment. The IRS is mailing this letter to people who received a third Economic Impact Payment. Keep this letter with your tax year 2021 records.
You should keep any IRS notices you receive about Economic Impact Payments with your other tax records. The IRS can't issue replacement copies of these notices. If you don't have your notices you can view the amounts of your Economic Impact Payments through your IRS Online Account.
Resources: Get My Payment Do’s and Don’ts for taxpayers who get a letter or notice from the IRS