How is a 2021 tax credit still available in 2025?

If you’re wondering why Tax Day 2025 is the deadline to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit, years after the third round of stimulus checks were sent out, it’s because IRS rules give taxpayers three years to file their taxes from the original due date in order to claim any refunds or credits from that year. And since the original deadline to file your 2021 tax returns was April 18, 2022, that means this year’s Tax Day is the final deadline to file for that year.

That three-year grace period to file is “expiring on April 15, 2025,” Spivey said. “So as long as it was mailed by April 15, 2025, and you have proof of the mailing … then you’ve preserved your right to claim that credit.”

Who qualifies for the Recovery Rebate Credit in 2025?

According to the IRS, you are eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit if:

• You were a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien during the 2021 calendar year, and;
• You were not claimed as a dependent of another taxpayer in 2021, and;
• You either have a valid Social Security number (SSN) or are filing jointly with a spouse who does, or you’re claiming a dependent who has a valid SSN or Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number.

Even if you did not have income in 2021 or received unemployment benefits for most of that year, you may still be eligible for this credit — but you’ll still have to file your 2021 taxes.

There are some things, however, that would disqualify you from receiving the credit, including:

• Residency: You are currently a nonresident alien without an SSN (and file your taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN)
• Income limits: If you are a single filer and your adjusted gross income (AGI) in 2021 was more than $80,000, you will not receive the credit. The AGI limit for married couples filing jointly is $160,000 and $112,500 for those filing as head of household.

That 3-year grace period to file expires on April 15, 2025. (Nora Carol Photography/Getty Images)

Will I have to pay a late penalty if I file my 2021 taxes in 2025?

That depends. The IRS will only charge you a late filing penalty if your 2021 filings show that you owe them money.

But if they owe you a refund, said Spivey from UC Law, “you do not get charged a penalty for the late filing of the tax returns.”

“For example, you didn’t owe any taxes, you just are claiming your stimulus check, and you’re going to get a $1,400 refund, then there wouldn’t be any penalties associated with that,” she added.

However, let’s say you do owe the IRS money on your taxes. For example, say that you were working back in 2021 and asked your employer not to deduct federal taxes from your monthly paycheck. Because of this decision, you are expected to pay a percentage of that 2021 income when filing your taxes for that year — and if you are filing those taxes now, you still owe the IRS that percentage in 2025.

“[A late filing penalty] would be a percentage of how much was due on the bottom of your refund,” Spivey said. But she said it “still might be worth” filing your 2021 tax return by April 15 even if you owe money “because you’ll still get credit for that $1,400 … to reduce how much that you owe on that tax return.”

Another caveat: The IRS notes that taxpayers seeking their 2021 tax refund may not get it if they still haven’t filed their 2022 and 2023 tax returns. But if dealing with the IRS seems challenging or intimidating, Spivey reminds folks that they aren’t alone in this process — and that if you’re finding the paperwork challenging or have been denied the Recovery Rebate Credit even after filing your 2021 taxes, you can contact a free or low-cost tax clinic like UC’s Law’s.”

“If there are any problems,” she said, “a low-income taxpayer clinic might be able to help [you] obtain those funds.”