Stimulus Update: You May Be Able to Claim More Stimulus Money Starting at the End of This Month

Making this move this month could potentially net you more COVID-19 stimulus money.

Americans across the country are hoping for more COVID-19 stimulus money as new COVID-19 variants spread and continue to cause ongoing economic chaos. Lawmakers haven't taken up calls for a fourth payment yet, though.

Despite this, millions of people could potentially be in line for a stimulus payment from the federal government, but they may need to take action in order to get it. It may be possible to start the process of claiming your COVID-19 payments as early as the end of January if you are eligible. Here's how.

Could you be eligible for more stimulus money?

You may be able to make a claim for a stimulus payment starting at the end of this month if you are missing any of the COVID-19 relief money you should have already received over the course of 2021.

You may be missing money from the $1,400 stimulus payments authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act and delivered to eligible adults and dependents. You may also be missing money from the expanded Child Tax Credit, which is worth up to $3,600 per eligible child and which was also authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act.

Most people already received the full amount of the $1,400 checks, as well as half of the expanded Child Tax Credit. However, not everyone did. You may not have received all the stimulus funds you were owed if:

• You hadn't filed a recent tax return and did not submit your information online so the IRS was unaware of your income or how many dependents you had
• You added a new dependent to your family in 2021 that the IRS was not aware of
• You experienced a decline in household income in 2021

Parents eligible for the expanded Child Tax Credit also received only half the money, distributed in monthly payments sent between July and December of 2021. As a result, they could be entitled to up to $1,800 per child depending on the age of their dependents.

You may be able to claim your stimulus money starting this month

If you have stimulus money the IRS did not send you yet, you will need to file a 2021 tax return in order to get it. And the good news is, now that 2021 is over, the IRS will begin accepting these returns soon.

The official date when the IRS will start accepting returns hasn't been released yet, but it is usually at the end of January. That means if you get started soon in preparing your tax returns and you submit it as soon as possible once the filing season opens at the end of this month, you can get on the fast track to claiming your missing stimulus money.

You could potentially get thousands of dollars more from the IRS if you're owed both stimulus check payments and expanded Child Tax Credit money, so don't hesitate to file a tax return ASAP and get these funds deposited into your bank account.