A recent Facebook post claimed that millions of residents across 10 states will receive a fourth IRS stimulus check. If you also came across such a post, don’t fall for it. It is a hoax, as no new federal stimulus checks are coming.
No fourth IRS stimulus check coming
Last week, a Facebook post claimed that a fourth IRS stimulus check will automatically go out to residents in 10 states on November 30.
Taxpayers with information on file with the IRS will receive a payment of between $500 and $3,284, the post said. Another version of the post read that taxpayers will get the money ranging from $500 to $2,000 depending on the state.
“STIMULUS CHECKS COMING Due date: Nov. 30, 2023,” reads the start of the post.
Further, the post read that millions of residents across Tennessee, Maryland, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, New York, Arizona, Virginia, Michigan, and Texas will receive the fourth IRS stimulus check.
These posts even say that if their account information is on file with the IRS, they will receive a direct deposit, and others will be issued a paper check. The posts site Google and the IRS as purported sources.
If you come across such posts, ignore them. The truth is that no fourth IRS stimulus check is coming. The IRS has confirmed that a fourth round of stimulus checks (Economic Impact Payments) have not been authorized.
Even the Treasury Department’s website states that the federal government has authorized and sent three rounds of EIPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The last round of payment was dispersed in March 2021.
States are sending rebate payments
Although some of the states mentioned in the post are sending rebates to eligible taxpayers, the rebate they are sending isn’t a stimulus check and the amount doesn’t match with the post as well.
Moreover, the rebate money that some states are sending has nothing to do with stimulating the national economy as was the purpose of the Economic Impact Payments.
Arizona, for instance, is sending rebate payments for the state’s Families Tax Rebate program. The state lawmakers created the program earlier this year to provide a one-time payment of up to $750 to taxpayers with dependent children. Similarly, Virginia started distributing one-time tax rebate checks of up to $400 last month.
Separately, the IRS might not be sending a new stimulus check, but the agency did issue a reminder last week that anyone who missed their stimulus check can still claim it. In a press release, the agency said that taxpayers can still claim the missed money through the Recovery Rebate Credit, and for that, they first need to file a tax return.
“The deadlines to file a return and claim the 2020 and 2021 credits are May 17, 2024, and April 15, 2025, respectively,” the IRS said in the press release.
