Congress has authorized three separate rounds of stimulus payments since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, sending some Americans as much as $3,200 during the last year if they qualified for all three checks.

The latest round of direct payments, which gave recipients up to $1,400 based on certain income levels, has been distributed by the Internal Revenue Service since March in weekly batches. The agency’s most recent disbursement pumped out nearly one million payments, bringing the total number of checks sent out so far to 165 million. 

The IRS must send out the third round of direct relief before the end of the year, a deadline that’s likely to stay on target, as the agency has distributed nearly 92 percent of the federal funds set aside for the stimulus payments.

But with the 2021 tax deadline closely approaching on May 17, some Americans are wondering whether they could still receive the stimulus money if they don’t file on time.

For those who can’t file a 2020 tax return by Monday, there is an option to request an automatic filing extension that would offer an extra five months to file. Although this could give taxpayers additional time to gather needed materials, it would delay receiving the direct payment. 

But in order to get any stimulus money, recipients must file a tax return.

The IRS also offers taxpayers up to three years to claim a tax refund from the date that the person filed a return that year or when the return was supposed to be filed. 

The agency is reportedly trying to find over 1.3 million Americans who should have received a tax refund for 2017. Those taxpayers will be eligible to receive their refund until the filing deadline this year, or May 17, but after that, the government will not disburse the money.

Taxpayers who are eligible for the stimulus payment may experience a similar situation in three to four years from now if they don’t owe any taxes for 2020 or 2021, and instead, should have received money from the federal government. 

President Joe Biden’s rescue package sent $1,400 direct payments to eligible individuals, plus an additional $1,400 check per dependent. Eligible recipients for the full stimulus payment include single filers earning up to $75,000, and joint filers making up to $150,000. Individual filers earning up to $80,000 and joint filers making up to $160,000 will receive smaller amounts.

And eligible taxpayers who were alive as of Jan. 1, 2021 qualify to receive a payment.

The president’s relief bill also widened the eligibility pool for dependents, allowing dependents over the age of sixteen to qualify. Those under the age of nineteen, under the age of twenty-four and are students, or any age and are permanently and totally disabled qualify as a child for the additional tax relief. The change in eligibility made 13.5 million more people able to receive the stimulus checks. 

The dependents must also earn less than $4,300, and the person claiming them on a tax return must provide more than 50 percent of their overall financial support. 

Rachel Bucchino is a reporter at the National Interest. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report and The Hill.