How to file taxes to get stimulus check

When you file a 2020 Form 1040 or 1040SR you may be eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit. Save your IRS letter - Notice 1444 Your Economic Impact Payment - with your 2020 tax records. You'll need the amount of the payment in the letter when you file in 2021.

If you did use the IRS nonfilers tool, you should have automatically received a second payment. If you didn't, you can still file for that money as a Recovery Rebate Credit as well. 

File for your Recovery Rebate Credit as part of a federal tax return this year, even if you don't normally do so. The IRS started processing 2020 tax returns on Feb. 12, and the federal tax return deadline was extended to May 17 -- but you can still file a tax extension. (In 2020, the IRS extended the deadline to July 15 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.)

To get started, most nonfilers are eligible to use the IRS' Free File tool (if you make less than $72,000 a year, you can use it). As the name suggests, this tool lets you obtain a free federal tax return and in some cases a free state return as well. It's available to use now.

Go to the Free File site and select Choose an IRS Free File Offer to see all of the options available, which include companies like TaxSlayer and TurboTax. These programs should walk you through how to file your return and the Recovery Rebate Credit Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR, all with no costs or fees. 

What to do if you're experiencing homelessness

If you don't have a permanent address or a bank account, you can still get a stimulus check. "The IRS has been continuing to work directly with groups inside and outside the tax community to get information directly to people experiencing homelessness and other groups to help them receive Economic Impact Payments," IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said.

The IRS recommends using a trusted friend, relative or shelter's address so the agency can mail your payment if you're unable to receive direct deposit. The agency also says banks will help a person without an account to open a low-cost or no-cost bank account.

Nonfilers are likely eligible to get both of the 2020 stimulus checks

Most nonfilers fall below the income limits stipulated by each stimulus package and would be eligible for the full amount in each round -- $1,200 per person under the 2020 CARES Act passed in March 2020, and $600 per person under the December 2020 stimulus bill. Find the full eligibility rules for each stimulus check here. 

If you receive SSI or SSDI, you should have received at least a portion of both of those stimulus checks automatically -- the IRS obtained the names of Social Security recipients and SSI beneficiaries from the Social Security Administration in the spring and made the payments to them automatically, according to Janet Holtzblatt, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. 

If either of your checks (or a portion of either) are missing, however, you'll have to take the extra steps below. 

Typical tax season protocol for nonfilers, and what's different in 2021

When it comes to stimulus checks, the IRS refers to people who didn't have to file taxes in 2018 or 2019 as nonfilers. This group includes: 

• People who are part of the SSI or SSDI programs
• Single people under age 65 with an income of less than $12,200
• Married people under age 65 with an income of less than $24,400
• Single people age 65 or older with an income of less than $13,850
• Married people age 65 or older with an income of less than $27,000
• Veterans and Railroad Retirement beneficiaries

While young adults age 17-24 who are claimed as dependents on someone else's taxes don't have to file taxes, they aren't eligible for a first or second stimulus check due to the rules set out in the CARES Act and the December stimulus bill. (They are eligible to count toward $1,400 in a third check, however.) Find out more about when you can receive your own stimulus check here. 

Typically during tax season, if you're included in any of the above groups, you don't have to file a federal tax return. However, if you received any health care tax credits or subsidies, you'll need to file to keep receiving them. You can also still file to get back any taxes withheld from your pay, or to claim certain refundable tax credits. That's what you're going to have to do this year to claim your missing stimulus money.