Who is all eligible for the third stimulus check

Washington(CNN) There's still time to claim a third stimulus payment worth up to $1,400 per person.

Eligible taxpayers who didn't receive the payment or may be due more money than they initially received are allowed to claim a tax credit on their 2021 federal tax return by the April 18 deadline.

The vast majority of the third stimulus payments were automatically delivered to taxpayers' bank accounts or via a check in the mail last spring. The payments were authorized by the American Rescue Plan in March 2021 and were meant to help people struggling financially because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the payments were calculated last year based on the most recent federal tax return on file at the time. If a taxpayer's income or family size changed in 2021, the individual may be eligible for more money.

Other people may have missed out on the stimulus payment altogether. Those with incomes so low they don't have to file taxes may have never received their payment because the Internal Revenue Service did not have their information.

How much are the payments worth?

The third round of stimulus payments is worth up to $1,400 per person. A married couple with two children, for example, can receive a maximum of $5,600.

Families are allowed to receive up to $1,400 for each dependent of any age. Earlier rounds limited the payments to dependents under the age of 17.

Generally, low- and middle-income US citizens and US resident aliens are eligible for either a full or partial third-round stimulus payment.

Individuals earning less than $75,000 of adjusted gross income, heads of households (like single parents) earning less than $112,500 and married couples earning less than $150,000 are eligible to receive the full amount of $1,400 per person.

But the payments gradually phase out as household income increases. Individuals who earn at least $80,000 a year of adjusted gross income, heads of households who earn at least $120,000 and married couples who earn at least $160,000 are not eligible for any money -- regardless of how many dependents they have.

Undocumented immigrants who don't have Social Security numbers are not eligible for the payments. But their spouses and children are eligible as long as they have Social Security numbers.

Who may be eligible for more money?

Taxpayers who earned less money in 2021 than the previous year may be eligible for more money than they initially received from the third round of stimulus payments.

Those include single filers who had incomes above $80,000 in 2020 but less than this amount in 2021; married couples who filed a joint return and had incomes above $160,000 in 2020 but less than this amount in 2021; and head of household filers who had incomes above $120,000 in 2020 but less than this amount in 2021, according to the IRS.

Individuals and families who added a child in 2021 -- through birth, adoption or foster care -- could be eligible for additional money. Families that added another kind of dependent, such as an aging parent or grandchild, may also be eligible.

Here's how to claim the payment on your tax return

Those who believe they are due more money must file a 2021 tax return, even if they don't usually file taxes, and claim what's called the Recovery Rebate Credit. If a taxpayer is eligible for more money, it will either reduce any tax the person owes for 2021 or be included in a tax refund.

In order to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit, a taxpayer will need information that was sent in a letter from the IRS in the past couple of months. Known as Letter 6475, it confirms whether a taxpayer was sent a third stimulus payment and the amount. Alternatively, that information can be obtained by accessing your IRS online account.

For most taxpayers, the federal tax return filing deadline is April 18, though it's a day later for residents of Maine and Massachusetts. Taxpayers having difficulty meeting the deadline can file for an automatic six-month extension by using Form 4868.

Published Wed, Mar 10 2021 2:23 PM ESTUpdated Tue, Mar 16 2021 5:44 PM EDT

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Does your family qualify for a stimulus payment? We'd like to hear how you will spend it. Email money reporter Alicia Adamczyk at .

President Joe Biden signed off on the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act Thursday, guaranteeing millions of American households will receive a third round of direct stimulus payments.

The bill extends federal unemployment insurance benefits through Sept. 6, 2021, and increases the current child tax credit for 2021, among many other provisions. It will also send an estimated 89% of tax filers a third direct payment worth up to $1,400 for each individual and his or her dependents.

Now, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will begin sending payments to eligible households.

Here's what to know about the third round of stimulus payments. 

The third economic impact payment is worth up to $1,400 per individual and dependent.

Single filers earning an adjusted gross income (AGI) up to $75,000 and heads of household earning up to $112,500 will receive $1,400, and married couples earning up to $150,000 are eligible for $2,800. Those taxpayers will also receive $1,400 for each dependent.

After that, there is a steep income phase out: The payments decrease to zero for single filers at $80,000, for heads of household at $120,000 and for married couples at $160,000 AGI. Taxpayers will receive the same amount for each dependent.

The phase out rate is not uniform for the third round of direct payments, according to the Tax Foundation. It will depend on a taxpayer's filing status and the number of dependents. 

Single filers, for example, will experience a 28% phase out rate, meaning that they will receive $280 less for every $1,000 over $75,000 they earn, says Garrett Watson, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation. An individual with an AGI of $77,000 would receive $840.

At the same time, while a married couple with no dependents would also see a 28% phase out rate, a couple with one dependent would see a 42% phase out rate. A couple with one dependent and an AGI of $155,000 would receive $2,100 total.

To see how much relief you may receive, use this calculator.

Taxpayers must have a Social Security number to be eligible for a payment and meet the income requirements detailed above.

While the steeper income phase out reduces the number of taxpayers qualifying for this stimulus payment, all dependents of eligible taxpayers will also receive a payment for the first time. That includes millions of college students, disabled adults and elderly Americans. Mixed-status families — in which some members have Social Security numbers and some do not — are also eligible, as they were for the second payment.

Like the second stimulus payment, those who owe child support should not have any of their stimulus money withheld.

The payments will be based on 2020 AGI if a taxpayer has already filed tax returns for last year. If not, they will be based on 2019 income.

Biden said some of the payments could be disbursed later in March. The IRS began sending out the previous round of stimulus payments within a few days of the last relief bill's passage in December.

Like the other two payments, taxpayers can track the status of their payments with IRS Get My Payment tool. Just note that that tool has been glitchy in the past, and can be overwhelmed when too many people try to use it at once.

The payments will primarily be sent via direct deposit, just like the other two rounds.

If the IRS doesn't have your direct deposit info, you may get a paper check or a pre-paid debit card in the mail.

Published Wed, Mar 30 2022 2:11 PM EDTUpdated Wed, Mar 30 2022 3:20 PM EDT

• The government has deployed most of the third round of stimulus checks in amounts of up to $1,400 per person.
• The 2021 tax season offers an opportunity to claim those payments if you never received a check for which you were eligible or if your circumstances have changed and you now qualify for the money.
• Here's what to know about finding out if this applies to you and your 2021 tax return.

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The IRS says it is no longer deploying $1,400 stimulus checks and plus-up payments that were due to qualifying Americans in 2021.

However, there may still be people eligible for those checks, or additional funds, once they file their returns this tax season.

A Treasury Department report found that, as of the middle of September, 644,705 people still had not received a third stimulus check due to them. Many of those people may have since received the money. It is unclear how many payments are still outstanding.

More from Personal Finance:
Almost 645,000 people were missing third stimulus checks last fall
Here's the average tax refund so far this year
What to do if student loan payments restart in May

The IRS recently released updated information on the Recovery Rebate Credit people may file for this year in order to recoup any of the money from those one-time payments still owed them.

The third round of stimulus payments were authorized last year through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Under the terms, individuals could receive up to $1,400 through the third stimulus checks. Couples who file jointly could get up to $2,800. Additionally, eligible dependents could also receive $1,400.

To qualify, you had to be either a U.S. citizen or resident alien in 2021. You also had to have a valid Social Security number, though there are certain exceptions for spouses or dependents.

You also could not have been claimed as someone else's dependent on a 2020 tax return in order to qualify for your own payment.

To be eligible for a full payment, your adjusted gross income could not be above certain thresholds: $75,000 for individuals, $112,500 for heads of household or $150,000 for married couples.

Payments were phased out for those with incomes above those levels, and cut off completely for individuals with $80,000 in adjusted gross income, heads of household with $120,000 and married couples with $160,000.

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There may be people who are eligible for the full $1,400 payments, or additional partial payments, particularly if their circumstances have changed.

Parents who added a child to their family in 2021 may be eligible for a $1,400 payment. Additionally, families who added a dependent to their family in 2021, such as a parent, niece or nephew or grandchild, may also be eligible for $1,400 on their behalf.

Additionally, people whose incomes have fallen may now be eligible for the money if their 2021 adjusted gross incomes are below the thresholds for full payments. If their incomes are in the phase-out thresholds, they could be eligible for partial payments.

People who do not typically file tax returns, and have not yet done so, need to file this year in order to receive the any potential payments.

The Recovery Rebate Credit money for which you are eligible will either reduce the amount of federal taxes you owe or be included in your refund.

A reminder: The IRS will not automatically calculate any Recovery Rebate Credit amount for which you may be entitled when you file.

"Individuals must claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 income tax return in order to get this money," the IRS said in its fact sheet.

To see if you are eligible for a payment, you can find more information on the Recovery Rebate Credit on the agency's website.

If you have no income or up to $73,000 in income, you can file your federal tax return for free using the IRS' Free File program.

For people who already received their third stimulus checks, there is no need to include information on those payments in their 2021 returns, according to the IRS.

If you are still missing a first or second stimulus check that was sent by the government in 2020, you will have to file a 2020 tax return rather than claim that money on your 2021 return, according to the IRS.