Millions of people in the United States have definitively lost the opportunity to claim the $1,400 stimulus check corresponding to 2021. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) closed the deadline for filing that year’s return on April 15, 2025, and with it also expired the right to request any pending refunds from that return, including stimulus payments.
Although this money was some of the most important help provided during the pandemic, many people, especially those on low incomes, did not know that they had to file a tax return to receive it. Unfortunately, now the deadline has passed and there is no longer any legal way to get it back.
Tax regulations set a three-year limit for claiming refunds, and once that limit has been exceeded, those funds go directly to the Treasury of the United States, with no possibility of appeal or exception.
The $1,400 stimulus check can no longer be claimed
The third round of Economic Impact Payments was made during 2021, and those who did not get the full amount were to claim the difference through their tax return for that year, using the Recovery Rebate Credit.
However, as that return was officially due in April 2022, the IRS only allowed it to be filed late until April 15, 2025. Those who did not meet this deadline have permanently lost their right to a refund.
This doesn’t just affect the stimulus. It also includes other tax benefits for 2021, such as:
- Refundable tax credits
- Refunds for withholdings from wages
- Any other pending IRS payments for that year
The loss of these funds can amount to hundreds or thousands of dollars per person, and there is no longer any administrative recourse to recover them.
Why have so many people been left out of the check?
Those most affected are those who had low incomes in 2021 and were not required by law to file a return. In many cases, they did not know they had to do so to receive the payment. Others assumed they had already gotten the full amount, without confirming whether it was true.
According to the IRS, more than one million people had not yet claimed their 2021 refund when the deadline passed. All those funds have now become part of the Treasury.
For future tax years, it is worth bearing in mind this general IRS rule: Taxpayers have three years from the deadline for each return to claim any refund or tax credit. After that period, the money is lost forever.
Although it is no longer possible to claim the 2021 stimulus check, taxpayers can review their returns for more recent years (such as 2022 or 2023) to make sure they don’t have any other refunds pending. Being up to date with the IRS can make a big difference in the financial stability of households.