Third Round Stimulus Payments: What You Need to Know in 2023
The third round of Economic Impact Payments (EIP3) was authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed into law on March 11, 2021. Eligible individuals could receive up to $1,400, plus $1,400 for each dependent claimed on their tax return. Payments started flowing in late March 2021 and continued through the fall. Most people received their money by early 2022. If you are trying to find out whether you received a third stimulus check in 2023, the situation is more complicated than it should be. The IRS "Get My Payment" tool, which was the main public-facing tracker for stimulus payments during the distribution period, has been taken offline for most users. As of late 2022 and into 2023, the portal no longer provides status updates for EIP3 payments for the general public. The IRS stated the tool would remain available until all eligible individuals had received their payment, but once that threshold was met, access was restricted. This creates a problem for people who never received their payment, never saw the expected deposit, or need documentation for loan applications, financial aid, or other paperwork. Here is what actually works in practice.
How to Check Your Third Stimulus Payment Status
Method 1: Check Your 2023 Tax Return
The most reliable way to confirm whether you received an EIP3 payment is through your tax documents. The recovery rebate credit for the third round is reported on line 7801 of Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR for the 2021 tax year. If you filed your 2021 return already, the amount you claimed as the recovery rebate credit will match what the IRS paid you — or be less if you received some but not all of it. I ran into a situation a while back where my spouse and I never received the EIP3 payment despite meeting all the eligibility criteria based on our 2020 tax return. Our 2021 return hadn't been filed yet, so we had nothing to cross-reference. I called the IRS directly, waited on hold for about 40 minutes, and eventually reached a representative who confirmed they had no record of a sent payment. What I learned from that call — and what the IRS doesn't make obvious upfront — is that you can still claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2021 tax return even if you never got the money. The payment and the credit are separate. Missing the automatic payment doesn't mean you lost the money.
Method 2: Use IRS Get Who's Got My Money Tool
The IRS launched a separate tool called "Get Who's Got My Money" specifically for people who were promised a payment but never received it. This tool can determine whether the payment is currently with the IRS, was returned to the IRS, is with the U.S. Treasury, or has been delivered to you. Access is available through the IRS website, and it requires identity verification similar to other IRS online tools. Processing times for issues identified through this tool can range from a few weeks to several months depending on the case complexity. If you believe a check was issued but never received, or a direct deposit went to the wrong account, you can request a payment trace. This is done by filing Form 3911, "Taxpayer Statement Regarding Erroneous Refund." For EIP3 payments specifically, you would complete Part 1, Section B, and check the box for "Government payment (other than refund)." There is a six-month waiting period from the date the payment was supposed to be issued before you can request a trace. For direct deposits, the expected issuance date is typically within 5 days of the IRS's scheduled deposit date. For paper checks, it is approximately 5 to 6 weeks from the issuance date. The IRS Transcript Service allows you to request a free account transcript, which will show recorded payments and credits. This is useful if you need a paper trail. You can access it at irs.gov using your Social Security number, date of birth, and filing status. The transcript will list any EIP3 payment the IRS issued to you, along with the date and method of delivery. Processing for a transcript request typically takes 5 to 10 calendar days when requested online, or up to 30 days if requested by mail.
Get the Full Details
One thing that trips people up constantly is confusing the second and third rounds. The second round (EIP2) was part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of December 2020, and the third round (EIP3) came from the American Rescue Plan in March 2021. They are separate payments with different eligibility thresholds and different amounts. If you check your records and see a deposit from 2020, that is not your third payment. The third round payments generally appeared as "TREAS IRS Ntfy EIP3" or similar descriptions on bank statements. Another counter-intuitive detail: the third stimulus payment amount was based on your most recent tax return the IRS had on file at the time of processing. For most people, this was either their 2019 or 2020 return. If your income changed significantly between those years and your 2021 return, the IRS did not automatically adjust your payment. However, you could reconcile any shortfall when you filed your 2021 tax return by claiming the Recovery Rebate Credit. This means people whose income rose above the phase-out threshold after receiving a full third payment did not have to pay it back. Conversely, people whose income dropped below the threshold after receiving a reduced or no payment could claim the full amount on their 2021 return. The system was designed to self-correct through the tax filing process, not through real-time payment adjustments. A practical limitation worth noting: if you did not file a 2019 or 2020 tax return and were not otherwise required to file, you still might have been eligible for a third payment through the IRS Non-Filer tool, which operated from May 2021 through October 2021. That tool is also now offline. If you fall into this category and never received your payment, your only path is to file a 2021 tax return and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit, even if you had no taxable income that year. Filing a zero-income return is free through IRS Free File if your adjusted gross income was below the threshold.
What Doesn't Work Anymore
The "Get My Payment" portal is the biggest source of frustration. People go there expecting to see their EIP3 status, get an error message, and assume something is wrong with their payment. In many cases, nothing is wrong — the portal simply stopped providing information once the IRS determined the distribution window was effectively closed. Do not spend hours trying different browsers or clearing caches. The tool is gone for EIP3 inquiries. IRS phone lines are another dead end for most people. Wait times routinely exceed an hour, and many calls are disconnected before reaching a representative. If you do call, have your Social Security number, prior-year tax return information, and any bank details ready. The representative will not be able to tell you the exact status of a missing payment over the phone in most cases. They will likely direct you to file Form 3911 or use the Get Who's Got My Money tool.
Bottom Line
If you are looking for your third stimulus payment status in 2023, start with your 2021 tax return if you have already filed it. Look at line 7801 for the Recovery Rebate Credit. If you have not filed your 2021 return yet, you can still claim the credit when you do. If you need real-time confirmation of whether a payment was issued, use the Get Who's Got My Money tool or request an account transcript. For payments that were issued but never received, file Form 3911 after the six-month waiting period has elapsed. The system is not elegant, and the IRS does not make these pathways especially discoverable, but the mechanisms exist if you know where to look.
