How to Get Unclaimed Stimulus Checks

Millions of stimulus checks were issued to help individuals and families during economic downturns, but some payments went unclaimed. If you believe you’re missing a stimulus check, there are steps to recover the funds.

Before taking action, it’s important to track your payment, correct errors, and address potential issues that may have prevented delivery.

Confirming Eligibility

First, determine if you were eligible. The IRS based eligibility on adjusted gross income (AGI), tax filing status, and dependent status. Individuals with an AGI above certain thresholds—$75,000 for single filers, $112,500 for heads of household, and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly—received reduced payments, with amounts phasing out entirely at higher income levels.

Eligibility also required a valid Social Security number and not being claimed as a dependent. Nonresident aliens and individuals without qualifying immigration status were excluded. Payments were generally issued based on the most recent tax return filed. Those who didn’t file taxes in prior years may have been overlooked unless they used the IRS’s non-filer tool.

Certain life changes could have affected eligibility. If your income dropped significantly, you had a child, or you became financially independent, you may have qualified for a payment that wasn’t automatically issued. In these cases, the IRS allowed individuals to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their tax return.

Checking Online Refund Status Tools

The IRS provides online tools to track stimulus payments. While the “Get My Payment” tool is no longer active, taxpayers can check for unclaimed funds through the IRS’s “Where’s My Refund?” or “Your Online Account” portals. These platforms show whether a stimulus payment was issued, when it was sent, and whether it was applied as a credit to a tax return.

To access these tools, you’ll need to verify personal details such as your Social Security number, filing status, and refund amount from your most recent tax return. If a payment was issued but never received, the IRS portal may indicate whether it was returned due to an incorrect address or banking information. If direct deposit failed, the IRS typically reissued payments as paper checks or debit cards, but some may have been lost in transit.

Reviewing past IRS notices, such as Letter 6475, which detailed stimulus payments sent in 2021, can also clarify whether funds were issued and if further action is needed.

Amending Tax Returns

Errors on a tax return can prevent stimulus payments from being issued. If the IRS did not automatically send the correct amount, filing an amended return may be necessary. This requires submitting Form 1040-X to correct mistakes related to income, deductions, credits, or filing status. Since stimulus payments were an advance on the Recovery Rebate Credit, any unclaimed amount can still be requested by adjusting the relevant tax year’s return.

Before submitting an amendment, review your original return for errors in income reporting, dependent status, or other factors that could have affected eligibility. If a dependent was mistakenly left off the return, correcting this could result in an additional payment. Similarly, if income was misreported and a lower AGI would have qualified for a stimulus payment, adjusting the return could make a difference.

The IRS allows amendments for up to three years after the original filing deadline, meaning the deadline to correct a 2021 return is April 15, 2025. Form 1040-X must be completed accurately and include supporting documentation, such as W-2s or 1099s. The IRS accepts electronic amendments for recent tax years, which speeds up processing compared to mailing a paper return. Amended returns can take up to 20 weeks to process, and their status can be checked through the “Where’s My Amended Return?” tool on the IRS website. If the correction results in an additional refund, the IRS will issue the funds via direct deposit or a mailed check.

Providing Nonreceipt Documentation

If IRS records show a stimulus payment was issued but never received, you may need to submit documentation to verify nonreceipt. Missing payments are typically categorized as misdirected, lost, stolen, or unclaimed. If a check was mailed but never arrived, you can initiate a payment trace by filing Form 3911, “Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund.” This allows the IRS to investigate whether the check was cashed and, if not, reissue the payment. If the check was fraudulently cashed, the IRS will provide instructions on how to proceed, which may include submitting an affidavit of forgery.

For direct deposit payments that were never received, verify banking details with the IRS. If an incorrect account number was provided, the financial institution may have rejected the deposit, returning the funds to the IRS. In such cases, the agency can issue a replacement payment once the issue is confirmed. However, if the funds were mistakenly deposited into the wrong account, the IRS advises taxpayers to work directly with the bank, as the agency does not have the authority to retrieve misdirected deposits.

Contacting Tax Offices

If online tools and documentation requests do not resolve the issue, contacting the IRS or state tax agencies may be necessary. Speaking with a representative can clarify whether a payment was issued, if it was returned, or if additional steps are required to claim the funds. The IRS can be reached at 800-829-1040, though wait times can be long, especially during tax season. Having relevant documents—such as prior tax returns, IRS notices, and payment trace requests—ready can help expedite the process.

If standard IRS channels do not resolve the issue, the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) may assist. TAS is an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers facing financial hardship or delays in receiving refunds. If a missing stimulus payment is causing financial strain, filing Form 911, “Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance,” may lead to a quicker resolution.

Additionally, state tax agencies should be contacted if a portion of the stimulus payment was intercepted for outstanding state debts. They can provide details on how the funds were applied.

Identifying Potential Offsets

In some cases, a missing stimulus payment may have been offset to cover outstanding debts. The federal government has the authority to redirect tax refunds and stimulus payments to satisfy certain obligations.

Stimulus payments were generally protected from most federal offsets, meaning they were not used to cover back taxes or federal student loan debt. However, they could be applied to unpaid child support, certain state tax liabilities, and other government obligations. If a payment was reduced due to an offset, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) should have issued a notice explaining where the funds were redirected.

Taxpayers can verify whether an offset occurred by contacting the BFS at 800-304-3107 or reviewing their tax account transcript through the IRS website. If an offset was applied in error, disputing the claim may be possible by working with the agency that received the payment.