(WJW) – Taxpayers who haven’t filed their 2021 tax returns may still be eligible to receive stimulus payments sent during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But, the Internal Revenue Service warns they face an April 15 filing deadline.

The Internal Revenue Service announced at the end of 2024 that individuals who did not receive the stimulus payments that they were eligible for would see a check in the mail or the money automatically appear in their bank accounts.

According to a press release from the IRS, about $2.4 billion was expected to be distributed in December, and in most cases, the payments would arrive by late January 2025 to the bank account listed on the taxpayer’s 2023 tax return or to the address on record.

The special payments were for those who filed a 2021 tax return, but left the data field for the Recovery Rebate Credit blank, or filled out as $0 when they were eligible, previously reported FOX 8’s parent company Nexstar.

In the release, the IRS also reminded taxpayers, who hadn’t filed 2021 tax returns, that they might be eligible for the money, but need to file their returns to claim the credit – and any other refund they might be owed – by April 15, 2025. The payments vary, but the maximum that could be received is $1,400 per individual.

In addition, the IRS announced that more than 1 million people across the nation have unclaimed refunds for tax year 2021. Based on tax information currently available, the IRS estimated nearly 40,000 taxpayers in Ohio may be entitled to a tax refund. The actual refund amount varies based on a household’s tax situation, but the IRS said the median refund in Ohio is estimated at $762.

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