- Millions of people are hoping to get a new stimulus check soon, but there are still many Americans who have yet to receive their first $1,200 payment from the government.
- Earlier this month, the IRS extended the deadline for people who aren’t usually required to file taxes to submit their information in order to receive their coronavirus stimulus check.
- The deadline to do so has been extended to November 21. It comes as Democrats and Republicans in Congress remain at an impasse over a new stimulus bill, which may or may not include new $1,200 stimulus checks.
Even though millions of Americans are still waiting on (or, rather, hoping for) a new stimulus check, news coverage of the heated battle in Washington DC over new coronavirus relief legislation can obscure the fact that there are still many Americans who have yet to receive their very first $1,200 check. That’s the direct payment which stemmed from the $2.2 trillion CARES Act that Congress passed way back at the end of March.
For most people, that original “Economic Impact Payment” has already been received in the mail, or it was direct-deposited into your bank account, and thus probably spent months ago. Earlier this month, meanwhile, the IRS announced a deadline extension that applies to people who aren’t in that same boat yet. It’s a deadline, specifically, for people who don’t regularly file taxes, perhaps because their income isn’t enough to trigger a filing requirement. Even so, those people, too, were meant to get a $1,200 stimulus check as part of the CARES Act, and the October 15 deadline to submit their information to the IRS to make sure they get that check has been pushed forward.
The new deadline is November 21. It was set, because while the IRS mailed close to 9 million letters last month to let people know that they needed to enter their information to receive the $1,200 they were owed, it looks as though many of those Americans didn’t heed the warning. Accordingly, the IRS decided it would be best to extend the deadline and give those affected more time to collect their cash.
According to the IRS, most eligible taxpayers received their Economic Impact Payments months ago. People who receive little or no income, however, and to whom this deadline extension applies need to visit the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool on the tax agency’s website. That tool is meant for, per the IRS, “people with incomes typically below $24,400 for married couples, and $12,200 for singles who could not be claimed as a dependent by someone else.” Couples and individuals who are homeless can also use the tool to apply for a stimulus check.
“We took this step to provide more time for those who have not yet received a payment to register to get their money, including those in low-income and under-served communities,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig explained in a news release.
As noted, congressional leaders are still locked in what have been months-long talks now over what form a new coronavirus relief accord should take. It’s all but certain that such a bill won’t be passed before the November election, which means Americans most likely won’t be getting new stimulus checks anytime soon — perhaps not until 2021.
