Rumors about a fourth stimulus check have been floating around since the Omicron variant of COVID-19 popped up in late 2021 and early 2022. But a new round of rumors have spread so widely on social media that the government had to step in and address them.
The posts claim that citizens in 10 states—Alabama, Arizona, Maryland, New York, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Tennessee, and Texas—will be receiving checks, with payments going out at the end of November.
“If your account information is on file with your account information with the IRS, you will automatically get your money deposited into the account they have on file,” reads the post. “If you received a paper check for your tax refund this year, you will get your stimulus. So if you moved & they don’t have a new address that’s your business.”
The Internal Revenue Service, though, says there’s no check on the way. In fact, no stimulus legislation has been approved since 2021, despite petitions and occasional pandering from some politicians.
And while some true believers of the post might point to state stimulus initiatives, three of the states mentioned (Florida, Texas, and Tennessee) don’t even collect personal income tax. Others might be offering earned income tax credits, but those will vary by state and have nothing to do with stimulus payments.
Three rounds of stimulus payments went out during the heart of the pandemic. The first, in March 2020, paid $1,200 per income tax filer and $500 per child. The second, distributed in December 2020, handed out $600 per filer and child. The third and final round came in March 2021, with payments of $1,400 per person and child.
All totaled, more than 476 million payments totaling $814 billion in financial relief were disbursed. People who never received the third payment or got less than the full amount are still eligible to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit with the IRS.
The deadlines to file a return and claim missing or incomplete 2020 and 2021 credits are May 17, 2024, and April 15, 2025.