What Are ‘Plus-Up’ Stimulus Checks? How To Get Extra Payment From IRS

Many Americans are wondering if a fourth stimulus check could be on the horizon from the government, and while that still isn’t something that seems to be in the works, some could still be eligible for a little extra cash as part of the third payment from the American Rescue Plan.

A portion of Americans were eligible for “plus-up” payment, which WGAL, an NBC affiliate station, reported included those who filed their 2020 taxes and saw a significant drop in income between 2019-2020 (such as those who may not have qualified for prior payments due to their 2019 income but lost their jobs at the start of the pandemic) and now make less, as well as those who added a new dependent to their household in 2020. It is unclear how much money the payments are for.

According to Fox News 8 Cleveland, 700,000 checks which went out in the latest batch of nearly two million payments were the “plus-up” payments, and the total value of those checks was nearly $1.2 billion.

Those who believe they may have been eligible but who did not receive a payment can use the Get My Payment tool on the IRS website to see the status of those payments. If they have also not yet filed 2020 taxes and are missing out on any of the stimulus checks, the IRS also suggests claiming the money on their return, which has a delayed filing deadline of May 17 due to the pandemic.

Other additional money will be deposited into qualifying Americans’ accounts in July in the form of the Child Tax Credit. Eligible households will receive $300 a month per child under the age of six and $250 a month per child ages 6-17 through December.

This, as well as an economy that is expected to continue rebounding with vaccine rollouts, are among the reasons experts have said not to count on a fourth round of stimulus check payments, calling the possibility that the Biden administration would approve them “unlikely.”