The third stimulus payment can be anything up to $1,400 per person and there’s a potential that each individual would have received this payment if they were eligible, but many US citizens and Green Card holders living abroad did not get the payment automatically, even though they’re eligible.
If you are married or have dependents, there’s a possibility that you will receive $1,400 per person within that household, depending on your financial situation.
To find out if you’ve been paid, or if you’ve received a partial payment, you can create an IRS online account or use the ‘My Payment’ app. You could also request a Notice 1444-C hardcopy of your payment for proof when completing your tax return.
Many expats struggle with the IRS “My Payment” app as they don’t have sufficient “US” identification to create an account, although the US is trying to make it easier to access with a US passport alone. Most can’t access the system without a US cell phone number. Some people have managed to set up a US cell number using various online services so they can access the system.
By the end of January 2022, the IRS will begin processing letter 6475 for all households that received a stimulus payment to confirm the amount provided and any ‘Plus-Up Payments’ that you received.
What Is A Plus-Up Payment?
A plus-up payment is a payment that is deposited to the bank account of a tax filer if their stimulus payment wasn’t given in full due to their previous tax return not showing their current financial situation.
The plus-up payment will make up the amount to the full $1,400 per person that the individual would have been entitled to, should the tax return have displayed the full and current information.
Basically, it’s a “top up”. If you didn’t get the full amount and you should have, you can expect the difference to be paid to you.
Why Haven’t You Received Your Third Stimulus Payment?
Some people, depending on their financial situation throughout the year, haven’t automatically qualified for the third stimulus payment because their financial situation has changed midway through the year. While this may have been picked up automatically by the IRS based on late filings from the previous year, it isn’t always.
If the IRS does realize that you have received less than you should have prior to you filing a tax return, they may send out the remaining stimulus payment to your bank account in the form of a plus-up payment.
This could happen if, for example, your standard income for tax years 2019 and 2020 exceeded the threshold for payment – meaning that you were deemed financially stable without the stimulus, then you wouldn’t have qualified for the first couple of payments. However, if you lost your job midway through 2021 as a result of the pandemic, then your income would have drastically decreased.
However, because you hadn’t previously qualified, the IRS hasn’t set this up automatically.
In this case, you would need to apply for the stimulus if no plus-up payment has been applied automatically. These circumstances might mean that you miss the stimulus application deadline or, depending on your financial situation, only receive a partial payment.
