This IRS Letter Is Not a Scam and You Must Keep It
Given the abundance of tax scams, it is prudent to be wary of unusual correspondence allegedly originating from the IRS. However, if you recently received a joint IRS / White House letter from Joe Biden confirming that incentive funds have been issued to you, it is important to know that this is not a scam and that you should keep it.
What’s in the letter?
The Treasury Department letter, known as “Notice 1444-C”, is official IRS correspondence confirming that the third incentive payment has been approved and automatically credited to your account (or by check issued to you). The letter contains a message from Joe Biden, which begins like this:
“My compatriot American, on March 11, 2021, I signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act, a law that will help vaccinate America and deliver immediate economic aid to hundreds of millions of Americans, including you.”
The email also includes contact information in case you haven’t received your payment. Richard Eppstein, president of the Better Business Bureau, explained to NBC :
“The letter says that if you haven’t received the money within seven days, to call 800 or go to the website and let them know, and hopefully they will figure out what the problem is and give you the money. “
Why should I keep a letter?
If you think your third incentive check was miscalculated, you can use the letter later to track down the missing funds that are likely to be granted as a tax rebate when filing your 2021 tax return (in the meantime, you canuse this calculator for estimate how much you owe). For this reason, the IRS recommends postponing the letter for now . This is especially true if the IRS is basing its calculations on your 2019 tax return and your income level or number of dependents has changed in the past year, which qualifies you for a higher incentive payment.
What if I throw away my letter?
Not everything is lost. According to CNET, you will be able to find the same information on your personal federal tax account using the IRS website (to get started, select the blue Create or View Your Account button to create an account). Note that if you don’t see the incentive payout information right away, it could be delayed up to three weeks, according to the IRS .