- Americans have been receiving stimulus checks from the federal government for months, but there are still millions of eligible people who have yet to receive their Economic Impact Payment.
- This week, the IRS extended the deadline for Non-Filers to submit their information and receive stimulus checks from October 15th to November 21st.
- Congress is currently working to strike a deal for another multi-billion dollar stimulus package.
Chances are that if you were eligible to receive an Economic Impact Payment from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, that money has already been deposited into your bank account or spent. If so, what you’re about to read won’t apply to you, but on Monday, the IRS announced that the deadline to register for a stimulus check has been extended from October 15th to November 21st for those who don’t regularly file taxes.
We’ve covered this before, but initially, the IRS set Thursday, October 15th as the deadline for everyone who had yet to receive a stimulus check to register on IRS.gov using the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool. 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, but it looks as though many of those Americans didn’t heed the warning. As a result, the IRS decided that it would be best to extend the deadline and give those affected more time to collect their cash.
“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 underserved communities,” explains IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “The IRS is deeply involved in processing and programming that overlaps filing seasons. Any further extension beyond November would adversely impact our work on the 2020 and 2021 filing seasons. The Non-filers portal has been available since the spring and has been used successfully by many millions of Americans.”
As the IRS news release states, most eligible taxpayers received their Economic Impact Payments months ago, but people who receive little or no income need to use the Non-Filers tool. Specifically, the Non-Filers tool is designed for “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 also apply.
This deadline extension comes as Democrats and Republicans are in heated discussions over a new stimulus package that would include another round of $1,200 checks. The House actually passed the $2.2 trillion HEROES Act last week, and Trump has signaled that he wants Congress to sign another bill as soon as possible, but it’s likely that the current price tag is still too high for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his colleagues.
