- The IRS knows millions of Americans right now are asking ‘Where’s my stimulus payment?” referring to the $1,200 and $2,400 coronavirus stimulus checks being issued directly to Americans from the tax agency.
- The payments are a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic and meant to help alleviate some of the economic suffering stemming from it.
- Here’s a schedule for when some of the next stimulus checks from the IRS will arrive.
- Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.
The IRS is reminding people who depend on Supplemental Security Income — a benefits program meant to help meet basic needs for the blind, disabled, and the elderly — that they need to act by Tuesday (May 5) if they didn’t file a tax return in 2018 or 2019 in order to receive their portion of the IRS’ stimulus check disbursements.
The tax agency says those payments will be issued soon and arrive around the middle of this month for those recipients. If recipients have eligible dependants and they didn’t file a tax return for the last two years, they’ll need to act fast in order to get the $500 per eligible child payment tacked on to their $1,200 or $2,400 stimulus check. All those recipients need to do is quickly utilize the special Non-Filers tool at IRS.gov by Tuesday, May 5, which is available in English and Spanish, in order for their benefits to arrive at the same time in the form of a single check.
Otherwise, those recipients will get a $1,200 check right now, and the associated $500 per-child payment would be paid out after they file a tax return for 2020. “The deadline is quickly approaching for these groups so they can get their maximum Economic Impact Payment of $1,200 and $500 for each eligible child as quickly as possible,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
“Everyone should share this information widely and help others with the ‘Plus $500 Push,’ so that more Americans get more money as fast as possible.”
This goes for both SSI as well as VA recipients who have children and who weren’t required to file a tax return for the last two years. The way to let the IRS know if you have dependent children and to take advantage of that extra $500 benefit is to visit the IRS’ Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here web tool. As a reminder, the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus legislation Congress passed in March appropriated funding to cover direct payments to most Americans of up to $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for married couples, with an additional $500 per eligible child.
Along these same lines, meanwhile, automatic payments for recipients of Social Security retirement, survivors, or disability insurance benefits, as well as Railroad Retirement benefits, began receiving their $1,200 payments this week with no action needed on their part. That includes people who don’t normally file a tax return. Recipients will generally get the automatic $1,200 payments by direct deposit, Direct Express debit card, or by paper check, just as they would normally receive their benefits.
For SSA/RRB beneficiaries who don’t normally file a tax return and have a child but who did not register on the IRS Non-Filers tool by April 22, they’re still getting their automatic $1,200 starting this week. The additional $500 per eligible child amount stimulus benefit would be paid in association with filing a tax return for 2020.
