Get your IRS ‘plus-up’ money – but don’t get scammed 

Santa might not be the only person getting his bag this December – you could, too. 

If you made less money in 2020 because of the pandemic or didn’t get stimulus payments owed you, you could still get your cash by filing your 2020 taxes before December 31, 2021.  

These payments are referred to as “plus-up” payments.  

Many young Americans (such as new college graduates) did not receive their stimulus checks because they were technically dependents in the 2019 tax year but were on their own in 2020, said Brad Garland, certified public accountant at Brand Blackwell in Huntsville, Alabama. 

There are no additional steps to take besides filing your 2020 taxes. If you’ve already filed your 2020 income taxes, there’s no other steps to take.  

If you don’t typically file income taxes, but are eligible for plus-up payments, you still have to file a tax return to get the payments, he explained.  

Garland said it’s important to note that these “plus-up” payments are getting people caught up on the stimulus money they are eligible for, but did not receive. This is not a new stimulus payment. People who didn’t receive the full stimulus amount they were eligible for will get an additional payment to bridge the gap.  

People still working to file their 2020 taxes should watch out for plus-up payment tax scams.  

“There’s so much fraud. You see advertisements to ‘get your plus up payment now, just enter your credit card information.’ Those are scams. Don’t hand out your financial information. Be wary,” Garland said.  

The deadline to file your 2021 taxes has already been extended to April 18, 2022, instead of April 15, 2022 due to the observance of Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia. Emancipation Day marks the end of slavery in D.C.