Non-filers: Expect a letter about your stimulus check

By Lisa Lake 

Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

If you don’t usually file a tax return, or didn’t file a return for 2018 or 2019, you might not know you could qualify for an economic impact payment.

You might be one of the nine million people getting a letter from the IRS letting you know how to register on their website to claim your payment by October 15, 2020.

If you get this letter from the IRS, it’s legit. Go only to the IRS’s real website at IRS.gov/EIP, or call them directly at 800-919-9835 to register to claim your payment.

You only have until October 15. 

But if someone claiming to be from the IRS calls, emails, or texts about helping you get your stimulus payment, that person is running a government imposter scam on you. Hang up, and don’t respond to or click on any links in texts or emails.

Why? Because the IRS will not text, email, or call you about your economic impact payment. And they’ll never ask you to pay a fee to get your money.

Visit the IRS’s website to find out more about stimulus payments. And be sure to tell the FTC if someone pretending to be from the government contacts you.