No, there is no legitimate $1,185 IRS relief deposit being mailed starting next week. This claim is a scam. The IRS has not authorized any new federal relief payments for 2026, and no such program exists despite what you may see circulating on social media, email, or text messages.
The last federal payment the IRS issued was in December 2024 through January 2025 for taxpayers who qualified for the Recovery Rebate Credit, and those payments were up to $1,400—not $1,185. If you’ve received a message claiming you’re entitled to a $1,185 deposit, you’re looking at a scam designed to steal your personal information, banking details, or money. This article breaks down why this scam exists, how scammers operate, what legitimate IRS payments actually look like, and how to protect yourself. Understanding the difference between real IRS communications and fraudulent ones is critical in 2026, when the IRS reports an increase in phishing attempts and fake refund messages targeting taxpayers.
Table of Contents
- Where Does the $1,185 Claim Come From?
- How the IRS Actually Communicates Versus Scammers
- What Real IRS Payments Look Like in 2026
- How Scammers Collect Your Information
- Why 2026 Has Seen an Uptick in These Scams
- What to Do If You’ve Already Received This Message
- Tax Scams Will Continue in 2026—Stay Vigilant
- Conclusion
Where Does the $1,185 Claim Come From?
Scammers use specific dollar amounts to make their schemes sound legitimate. The $1,185 figure follows a pattern of recurring online fraud using similar numbers—amounts like $1,390, $1,702, and others are cycled through different scam campaigns. These amounts are chosen strategically: they’re large enough to grab attention and seem believable (not obviously fake like $1,000,000), yet they correspond loosely to real government payments or tax refunds, which exploits people’s familiarity with actual programs.
Some amounts even reference legitimate state programs, like Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend, to add credibility to the lie. The IRS’s “Dirty Dozen” tax scams list for 2026 specifically warns about fake refund messages and phishing attempts targeting taxpayers. Scammers know that tax season creates urgency and emotional investment—people want to believe they’re getting money back. That psychological leverage is what makes the $1,185 claim so persistent. A scammer sending out millions of messages knows that a portion will fall for it, and that’s profitable enough to justify the effort.
How the IRS Actually Communicates Versus Scammers
The IRS initiates all contact with taxpayers through official mail sent via the U.S. Postal Service—physical letters, nothing else. If you receive an unsolicited email, text message, or social media message claiming to be from the IRS, it is a scam. Period. The IRS will never ask for personal information, banking details, social security numbers, or payment information via email or text.
Yet scammers impersonating the IRS do exactly this, using urgent language like “Your refund is pending” or “Verify your identity immediately” to pressure you into sharing sensitive information. Legitimate IRS communications arrive as formal letters with official letterhead. They include your full name, address, and specific tax information relevant to your case. Scam messages are usually generic (“Dear Taxpayer” or “Hello”), contain poor grammar or spelling, include suspicious links or attachments, and pressure you to act within a short timeframe. The Federal Trade Commission has issued consumer alerts warning that unsolicited tax refund messages via text or email are consistently scams. If you’re unsure whether a message is real, ignore the links in it entirely, go directly to IRS.gov using your browser’s search bar, and find the IRS’s contact information to verify.
What Real IRS Payments Look Like in 2026
Understanding what legitimate IRS payments actually are helps you spot the fakes. The most recent federal payment was issued from December 2024 through January 2025 to eligible taxpayers who qualified for the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 returns. Those payments reached up to $1,400 per person—not $1,185—and they were for a specific, congressionally approved reason tied to prior tax filings. No new federal stimulus or relief payments have been approved by Congress for 2026, despite what scammers claim. If you do receive money from the IRS, it will come through direct deposit to the bank account you provided on your tax return, via a physical Scammers don’t just want you to send money—they want to steal your identity. When you click a link in a fake IRS message, it typically directs you to a fraudulent website designed to look like IRS.gov or your bank’s login page. Once you enter your Social Security number, personal identification number (PIN), online banking credentials, or bank account details, scammers have what they need to commit identity theft, drain your accounts, or file fraudulent tax returns in your name. The phishing cycle is dangerous because even if you don’t fall for it immediately, scammers sell stolen information on underground markets where it’s used by other criminals for months or years afterward. Some victims discover the fraud only when they file their next tax return and learn that someone already filed in their name, or when they check their credit and see fraudulent accounts opened without their permission. This is why the IRS and FTC emphasize that you should never click links in unsolicited messages claiming to be from tax authorities, regardless of how urgent the message sounds. The IRS’s 2026 warning about the “Dirty Dozen” tax scams reflects a real trend. Tax season creates a window of vulnerability because people expect to interact with tax authorities, refund information, and financial accounts. Scammers exploit this natural behavior. Additionally, AI tools have made it easier for criminals to craft convincing fake messages in volume, personalizing them just enough to bypass initial skepticism. Some scam messages now reference specific tax credits or deductions, making them appear to be from someone with actual knowledge of your return. Another factor is that legitimate government communication has become more digital in recent years, which gives scammers plausible cover. People are more accustomed to receiving government notices via email than they were a decade ago, making it easier for criminals to blur the line. However, the IRS has been clear: their official policy remains that they initiate contact through mail, not email or text. If a digital message claims to be from the IRS, it’s almost certainly a scam. If you’ve received a message about a $1,185 IRS relief deposit, do not click any links, do not call any phone number provided in the message, and do not respond. Delete the message. If you’re worried you may have already shared information, act immediately. Contact your bank and credit card companies to alert them of potential fraud. Place a fraud alert on your credit reports by contacting one of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion), which will notify the others. Consider freezing your credit, which prevents new accounts from being opened in your name without your explicit permission. You can also report the fraudulent message to the IRS directly by forwarding it to phishing@irs.gov if it was an email, or report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. These reports help authorities track scam patterns and shut down fraudulent operations. If you’ve been a victim of identity theft related to tax fraud, file a report with the IRS using Form 14039 (Identity Theft Affidavit) and contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) through its hotline. Tax scams are not going away. As long as people expect refunds and relief payments, scammers will exploit that expectation. The sophistication of these scams will likely increase, with AI-generated messages becoming harder to distinguish from legitimate communications. This makes personal vigilance more important than ever. Develop a simple rule: if a message about money comes to you digitally and claims to be from the IRS, treat it as a scam unless you initiated the contact by going directly to IRS.gov. Looking ahead, the most reliable way to protect yourself is to file your tax return early in the season, monitor your account and credit reports regularly, and use multifactor authentication on all financial accounts. If you’re due a refund, use the IRS’s official Where’s My Refund tool on IRS.gov to check the status—do not rely on emails or texts. The more informed you are about how the IRS actually operates, the easier it becomes to spot the fakes. The $1,185 IRS relief deposit claim is a scam with no legitimate basis. There is no authorized federal payment program offering this amount for 2026. The IRS has issued no new stimulus or relief payments, and any unsolicited message claiming you’re eligible for one is fraudulent. Understanding the difference between real IRS communication (formal mail only) and scams (digital messages with urgent language and requests for personal information) is your first line of defense against these schemes. If you receive this message or any similar claim about a government payment, delete it immediately, do not click links or call provided phone numbers, and report it to the IRS and FTC. Protect your financial information by freezing your credit if necessary, monitor your accounts regularly, and remember that legitimate tax refunds are tracked transparently through IRS.gov—never through text, email, or unsolicited phone calls. Stay skeptical, stay informed, and stay safe during tax season.
How Scammers Collect Your Information
Why 2026 Has Seen an Uptick in These Scams
What to Do If You’ve Already Received This Message
Tax Scams Will Continue in 2026—Stay Vigilant
Conclusion
You Might Also Like