Considering the abundance of tax scams out there, it’s wise to be wary of unusual correspondence purporting to be from the IRS. However, if you recently received a jointly issued IRS-White House letter from Joe Biden confirming that you’ve been issued stimulus funds, it’s important to know that it’s not a scam, and that you should keep it.
What’s in the letter?
The Department of the Treasury letter, known as “Notice 1444-C,” is an official IRS correspondence confirming a third stimulus payment has been approved and automatically deposited into your account (or a check issued to you). The letter contains a message from Joe Biden, beginning:
“My fellow American, On March 11, 2021, I signed into law the American Rescue Plan, a law that will help vaccinate America and deliver immediate economic relief to hundreds of millions of Americans, including you.”
The letter also provides contact information in case you haven’t received your payment. As Richard Eppstein, president of the Better Business Bureau, explained to NBC:
“What the letter says is if you haven’t gotten the money in seven days to either call an 800 number or go to a website and let them know and hopefully they’ll figure out what the problem is and get the money to you.”
Why do I need to keep the letter?
If you think your third stimulus check was unfairly calculated, you can use the letter later to track down missing funds, which will likely be issued as a rebate tax credit when you file your 2021 taxes (in the meantime, you can use this calculator to estimate how much you’re owed). For this reason, the IRS recommends holding onto the letter for now. This is particularly relevant if the IRS is based their calculations on your 2019 tax return and your income levels or number of dependents changed in the last year, making you eligible for a larger stimulus payment.
What if I trashed my letter?
Not all is lost. Per CNET, you should be able to find the same information in your personal federal tax account using the IRS website (start by selecting the blue Create or view your account button to create an account). Note that if you don’t see stimulus payment information right away, it might be delayed up to three weeks, according to the IRS.