CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — Here in West Virginia, there are more than 7,700 unclaimed stimulus checks. If one of those is yours, here’s how to go about claiming it.
The country is missing out on a hefty chunk of spending or saving from stimulus checks.
The country’s economy is missing out on a hefty chunk of spending or saving from stimulus checks.
A lot of people have asked me about why they haven’t gotten their stimulus checks, and often it’s because they haven’t filed a tax return in the last three years.
John Empson, Certified Public Accountant
According to Internal Revenue Service Records, Americans refused, paid back, or failed to cash more than 1.3 million first-round $1,200 stimulus checks issued at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
So the question now is, “Will any of those stimulus checks be able to be recovered?”
“If you haven’t, you need to file one, or you can go to IRS.GOV, ‘Where’s my Stimulus Check?’, and look on there and enter your information and that may be able to help you, but filing a tax return will help and if you don’t have any taxable income you can still file a tax return electronically, and that’s the best way to get one soon,” said John Empson, Certified Public Accountant.
“I mean if you know you’re supposed to get one and didn’t get it, do something. Online, phone, something,” said Matthew Gladwell, Bailey & Glasser Employee.
Those who have filed or will file their tax returns will be able to qualify for their unreceived stimulus money.
“If you didn’t get your first two tax returns, the ones that came out in May of 2020 and December of 2020, you can actually file a 2020 tax return and claim those refunds as part of your tax return, which can be up to $2,800 per person or more if you have dependents,” said John Empson, Certified Public Accountant.
There is still a lot of time for you to claim your stimulus check.
If you haven’t claimed yours yet, you can still claim it. You have until the end of 2021 – actually the first three or four months of 2022 to file your 2021 tax return and claim those refunds, so persevere.
John Empson, Certified Public Accountant
If the stimulus money is not claimed, the money gets returned to the government.