IRS Sending Bonus “PLUS-UP” Check to 700k+ Americans
The IRS says it’s distributing a new batch of stimulus checks from the COVID rescue bill President Joe Biden signed in mid-March — and this phase might provide you with extra money if you already got a relief payment in the latest round.
Some 700,000 Americans are receiving $1.2 billion in what the tax agency calls “plus-up” payments. You may get one if you previously didn’t qualify for the entire $1,400 from the latest stimulus check, the third one of the pandemic.
Who Will Get “Plus-Up” Stimulus Check?
As the IRS explained in a news release on Thursday, these plus-up payments provide “supplemental” support for Americans whose third stimulus check had been based on information from their 2019 income tax returns, but who are now in line for a new or larger amount based on their 2020 returns.
When it started processing the $1,400 relief payments, the IRS had to rely on the most recent data in its system. If you hadn’t filed your 2020 taxes before the third round of stimulus checks was set in motion, the IRS would have used your 2019 return to determine how much money you were eligible for.
But maybe you earned less last year than you did in 2019, because of the COVID crisis. If you’ve recently filed your 2020 taxes, you may be eligible for a bigger stimulus check now — so you’ll receive a plus-up to make up the difference.
