IRS Reopens Registration Period for Economic Impact Payments

The IRS Is Taking New Steps to Ensure People Get Their COVID-19 Payments

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that it has established a way to help people who weren’t able to provide their information in time to receive Economic Impact Payments (EIP) for their children. To do this, the IRS has reopened the registration period for qualified people who didn’t receive a stimulus payment of $500 per child earlier in the year.

IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said, “IRS employees have been working non-stop to deliver more than 160 million Economic Impact Payments in record time. We have coordinated outreach efforts with thousands of community-based organizations and have provided materials in more than two dozen languages. Given the extremely high demand for EIP assistance, we have continued to prioritize and increase resource allocations to eligible individuals, including those who may be waiting on some portion of their payment. To help with this, we are allocating additional IRS resources to ensure eligible recipients receive their full payments during this challenging time.”

>> Check Your Stimulus Payment Status

Economic Impact Payments for People with Children: Use the IRS Non-Filers Tool

If you are an eligible recipient of federal benefits, you should use the Non-Filers tool available on the IRS website. This online tool will be available from August 15 through September 30, 2020.

You will need to provide information about your qualifying child(ren) to receive the supplemental $500 payment(s). According to the IRS, eligible individuals include: people with qualifying children who receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Railroad Retirement benefits and Veterans Affairs Compensation and Pension (C&P) benefits and did not file a tax return in 2018 or 2019.

The IRS estimates that these catch-up payments will be sent out by mid-October 2020.

Still Haven’t Received Your Stimulus Check? Non-Filers Must Provide Information By October 15

The IRS is reminding people who earn little/no income and who aren’t required to file income tax returns that they are still eligible to receive a stimulus payment. However, these individuals must use the Non-Filers tool to provide their information by October 15, 2020 if they want to get their stimulus check this year.

If you miss the October 15 deadline, you will have to wait until next year and claim the Economic Impact Payment as a credit on your 2020 federal tax return (Form 1040).

The IRS Non-Filers online tool is available in English and Spanish. It’s designed for people whose income is typically below $12,000 (for a single/unmarried person) or $24,000 (for a married couple). You may qualify even if you don’t work or have earned no income.

Note that low-income and moderate-income workers and working families who are eligible to receive special tax benefits (such as the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Child Tax Credit) cannot use the Non-Filers tool. Instead, they will need to file a regular tax return using E-file or another method.

50,000 Spouses Will Get Catch-Up Stimulus Payments

The IRS also announced that it will soon be issuing catch-up Economic Impact Payment checks to individuals whose portion of the stimulus payment was diverted to pay for their spouse’s past-due child support. These payments will be sent to approximately 50,000 people.

The catch-up payments are scheduled to be mailed around mid-September. The IRS will send checks to any qualified spouse who filed Form 8379 (Injured Spouse Allocation) with their 2019 (or 2018) federal income tax return.

RELATED: $2 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Stimulus Package: Information About Stimulus Payments

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