Not long ago, many Chinese friends in Austin saw posts on social media about a "COVID tax refund" with "less than a week left" to claim it. As an Austin-based Chinese CPA firm rooted in Texas, YZ CPA received quite a few calls from clients asking whether this was a new round of government payments. To put it simply, this is not a new stimulus bill; the "last chance" circulating online refers to the claim window for the 2020 relief payment — but to be clear, that window actually closed back on May 17, 2024. Today we'll walk you through the full story.
Editor's Note (Updated July 16, 2026): When this article was first published, it mistakenly treated the claim window for the 2020 relief payment refund as still counting down; in fact, that window closed on May 17, 2024 (April 15, 2025 for the 2021 tax year). The text below has been revised into a retrospective explainer. The deadline that was actually approaching the week this article was published was for the Kwong case-related pandemic penalty/interest refund claims (July 10, 2026), which has now also passed.
What Is the "COVID Tax Refund"?
The money everyone is talking about is known in tax terminology as the "Recovery Rebate Credit." In 2020 and 2021, to ease the economic pressure caused by the pandemic, the U.S. government issued several rounds of "economic stimulus checks." However, many people did not file a tax return at the time, had income too low to trigger filing, or had incomplete information in the system, resulting in not receiving this money, or receiving less than they were entitled to.
Under U.S. tax law, this money is technically an advance payment of a tax credit for the corresponding tax year. If you didn't receive it back then, the only remedy is to claim that credit by filing a federal tax return for that year. Taxpayers generally have three years to claim a refund by filing or amending a return: the window for tax year 2020 closed on May 17, 2024, and the window for tax year 2021 closed on April 15, 2025. Once the window closes, the money is formally forfeited to the U.S. Treasury and can no longer be recovered.
How Did This Affect Chinese Tax Filing Clients in Austin?
Among the Chinese tax filing clients we work with in Austin, a few groups were most likely to have missed out on this money back then. First were international students. Many people who were in the U.S. in 2020 may not have been familiar with U.S. tax law and assumed that having no income meant they didn't need to file, thereby missing out on a benefit that could have been as much as $1,200 or more. Second were new immigrants or visiting scholars who had just arrived in the U.S. — they may not have had a Social Security Number (SSN) at the time, only an ITIN, or their check may have been lost in the mail due to an address change.
In addition, some Chinese professionals working in Austin's tech industry may have been just starting their careers in 2020, or experienced fluctuating income due to pandemic-related job loss, and didn't pay close attention to tax correspondence at the time. Regardless of the reason for missing it back then, the main thing you can do now is verify your historical records: log into your IRS Online Account to review your 2020 and 2021 filing and payment history, and confirm whether you correctly received the payment at the time. For the basics of checking your records and filing, you can refer to our Chinese Tax Filing Guide, which walks through the process in detail.
What Were the Eligibility Criteria Back Then?
Looking back, eligibility for this payment mainly depended on your filing status and income level for the relevant year. Generally speaking, resident aliens holding a valid work visa whose 2020 Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) was below a certain threshold (for example, under $112,500 for Head of Household, or under $150,000 for married couples) were largely eligible to claim it.
Even someone with zero income in 2020 could have filed a return to claim this credit in full. Many clients asked us at the time: would filing to claim this cause any trouble? No — it was a taxpayer's legal right, and the IRS even encouraged eligible low-income individuals to file in order to claim the benefits they were owed. Unfortunately, once the window closes, there's no remaining avenue for relief. If you'd like to learn more about tax optimization, feel free to read our Tax Insights column.
YZ CPA Note: The Lesson on Deadlines
As professional tax advisors, we want to use this episode as a reminder: every refund right comes with a statutory deadline. Those who filed before the deadline back then successfully received their money; those who hesitated and waited lost the opportunity permanently. Going forward, whenever you encounter a time-limited tax right — whether it's a refund, a credit, or penalty relief — gather your documents and assess your eligibility right away. Don't let "I'll get to it later" turn into "too late."
At the same time, don't forget about tax compliance. If you held foreign financial accounts (such as bank accounts back home) in past years with balances above a certain threshold, you may need to file an FBAR. As you sort through your historical tax records, be sure to also confirm that no other compliance obligations have been overlooked, to avoid unnecessary trouble. For details on reporting foreign accounts, we recommend reviewing our FBAR Filing Guide.
For Chinese friends who have lived in Austin for many years, it's worth reminding those around you — especially friends who have recently arrived in the U.S. — to pay attention to more recent refunds that are still within the three-year claim window, so as not to repeat the mistake made with the pandemic refund. Often, a refund of a few thousand dollars can make a significant difference in living expenses for an international student's family or a young person just starting out.
In short, the chapter on claiming pandemic relief payments has now closed. If you're not sure whether you have any unclaimed refunds from recent years, or need to review your historical filing records, the safest approach is to seek help from a professional.
For professional tax assistance, please visit our YZ CPA Services page or contact us.