The third Economic Impact Payment, known as EIP 3, was a stimulus payment of up to $1,400 per eligible person authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed into law on March 11, 2021. The IRS distributed roughly $390 billion across 163.5 million payments by direct deposit, paper check, and debit card throughout 2021.1U.S. Department of the Treasury. Treasury and IRS Release State-by-State Data on Third Round of Economic Impact Payments Totaling Nearly $390 Billion The advance checks were tied to a tax credit called the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit, and the deadline to claim any unpaid portion by filing a 2021 return was April 15, 2025.2Internal Revenue Service (IRS). IRS Reminds Eligible 2020 and 2021 Non-Filers to Claim Recovery Rebate Credit Before Time Runs Out
How Much EIP 3 Paid
The payment was $1,400 per eligible individual, $2,800 for a married couple filing jointly, and another $1,400 for each dependent listed on the return. A family of four who met the income rules received $5,600.
The biggest change from the first two rounds was who counted as a dependent. Earlier stimulus payments were limited to qualifying children under 17. EIP 3 included dependents of any age: college students claimed by their parents, elderly relatives in the household, and adult dependents with disabilities all generated the $1,400 payment.3U.S. Department of the Treasury. Economic Impact Payments
Income Limits and the Phase-Out
Full payments went to taxpayers whose adjusted gross income was at or below the following thresholds:
- Single filers: $75,000
- Head of household: $112,500
- Married filing jointly: $150,000
Above those levels the payment shrank quickly and disappeared entirely at:
- Single filers: $80,000
- Head of household: $120,000
- Married filing jointly: $160,000
That phase-out was far steeper than in prior rounds. A single filer earning $77,500 received only $700, half the full amount, because the entire payment phased out across a $5,000 window.4Internal Revenue Service. 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit – Topic C: Eligibility for Claiming a Recovery Rebate Credit on a 2021 Tax Return The phase-out applied to the whole payment, including the dependent portion.5Democrats – House Ways and Means Committee. Frequently Asked Questions Economic Impact Payments Under the American Rescue Plan
The IRS calculated advance payments using whichever return was most recently on file, either 2019 or 2020. If your 2021 income turned out to be lower, or your family grew, the actual amount you were entitled to was settled when you filed your 2021 return through the Recovery Rebate Credit.4Internal Revenue Service. 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit – Topic C: Eligibility for Claiming a Recovery Rebate Credit on a 2021 Tax Return
Who Qualified for EIP 3
Three basic requirements had to be met. You had to be a U.S. citizen or resident alien. You could not be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return. And you needed a valid Social Security number. Dependents also needed their own valid Social Security number or an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN) issued by the IRS.4Internal Revenue Service. 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit – Topic C: Eligibility for Claiming a Recovery Rebate Credit on a 2021 Tax Return An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) did not satisfy the SSN requirement for the primary taxpayer.
There was no minimum income. People with little or no earnings still qualified as long as they met the identification and residency rules. Non-filers who normally had no obligation to file could claim the credit by submitting a 2021 return, and IRS Free File was available at no cost for those with income of $73,000 or less.6Internal Revenue Service. 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit – Topic B: Claiming the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit if You Aren’t Required to File a Tax Return
Mixed-Status Households
When a married couple filed jointly and only one spouse had a valid SSN, the household could still receive up to $1,400 for that spouse and $1,400 for each qualifying dependent with a valid SSN. The spouse with only an ITIN did not generate a payment.4Internal Revenue Service. 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit – Topic C: Eligibility for Claiming a Recovery Rebate Credit on a 2021 Tax Return If neither spouse had a valid SSN, only qualifying dependents with valid SSNs counted.
Military families had an exception. If either spouse was an active member of the U.S. Armed Forces at any time during 2021, only one spouse needed a valid SSN for the couple to receive the full $2,800, plus $1,400 per qualifying dependent.4Internal Revenue Service. 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit – Topic C: Eligibility for Claiming a Recovery Rebate Credit on a 2021 Tax Return
Deceased Taxpayers
Someone who died during 2021 or 2022 could still be eligible for the payment if they met all the other requirements while alive, and the credit could be claimed on a 2021 return filed on their behalf. Anyone who died before January 1, 2021, did not qualify.4Internal Revenue Service. 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit – Topic C: Eligibility for Claiming a Recovery Rebate Credit on a 2021 Tax Return
The Advance Payment and the Recovery Rebate Credit
The checks the IRS sent out during 2021 were legally advance payments of a tax credit. The credit itself, established by IRC Section 6428B, was the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit.7Taxpayer Advocate Service. Recovery Rebate Credit and 2021 Economic Impact Payments (EIP3) When a 2021 return was filed, the IRS compared the advance amount already received against the amount actually earned based on 2021 income and family size. Any shortfall was paid out as a credit on the return.
The credit was fully refundable, so it could generate a refund even for people who owed no tax for 2021.8Internal Revenue Service. 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit Questions and Answers The payment was not taxable income and did not need to be reported as earnings on any future return.
Claiming the credit meant entering the amount on Line 30 of Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR, using the Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet in the form instructions.6Internal Revenue Service. 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit – Topic B: Claiming the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit if You Aren’t Required to File a Tax Return Two IRS notices helped taxpayers confirm what they had received: Notice 1444-C, sent shortly after each payment, and Letter 6475, mailed through March 2022, which showed the total of all third-round payments (including any supplemental “plus-up” payments) for tax year 2021.9Internal Revenue Service. 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit – Topic A: General Information Joint filers each received a letter showing half of the payment. Anyone missing the notices could look up the amount through their individual Online Account at IRS.gov.
Can You Still Claim EIP 3?
In most cases, no. The deadline to file a 2021 tax return and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit was April 15, 2025.2Internal Revenue Service (IRS). IRS Reminds Eligible 2020 and 2021 Non-Filers to Claim Recovery Rebate Credit Before Time Runs Out That date came from the federal refund statute of limitations, which generally allows three years from the original due date of a return to claim a credit or refund. The 2021 return was originally due April 18, 2022, so the window closed in April 2025.10Taxpayer Advocate Service. Refund Statute Expiration Date (RSED)
If no 2021 return was filed before that date, the unclaimed credit is generally forfeited. The IRS cannot issue a refund after the statute of limitations has expired, regardless of otherwise meeting every eligibility rule.
There is one situation still worth checking. Before the deadline passed, the IRS identified about one million taxpayers who had filed 2021 returns but left Line 30 blank when they were entitled to the credit, and automatically sent those payments totaling roughly $2.4 billion. If you filed a 2021 return on time but did not claim the credit, it may be worth reviewing your IRS Online Account or contacting the IRS to see whether an automatic correction was applied.