What to do if you haven’t received your stimulus check by January 15

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) – Thousands are still waiting on their stimulus payments.

A tax expert from Liberty Tax who says all you need to do is file taxes and you’ll get your stimulus payment on your 2020 tax return. 

“By the 15th of this month (January) if you haven’t received the second stimulus or don’t believe you’re going to receive it, the IRS has actually added a line number for the IRS 1040 where you can report to say I have not received my first or second stimulus,” said Christopher Landis.  

Let’s say you use Turbo Tax to file your taxes, you’ll come across a screen asking did you receive the first stimulus check, the second check or both checks.

Based on your payment amount, the next screen will tell you how much stimulus money you’ll get on your tax return. 

“Some good things to know about that as well, if you owe taxes or you have a prior obligation to the IRS, they’re not going to hold that money when you file your tax return,” said Landis. 

Landis says if you haven’t received the second stimulus check be patient, it could be on the way next week. 

The big question is how long should you wait if you still haven’t gotten your check?

If you chose to get your taxes via direct deposit in 2019, wait until January 15th. That’s the date the IRS is quoting for when you’ll have this second stimulus check.