Our recent blogs have focused on new online tools for reporting Economic Impact Payment information and scams targeting EIP recipients. Today, we’re going to look at a recently published IRS release to better understand who should use the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool on IRS.gov.
Who should use Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here?
The Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool was created to help Americans who don’t normally file a tax return provide their EIP-qualifying information to the IRS. The intended userbase is generally low-income Americans and federal benefits recipients who can claim dependents, and the IRS release outlined three basic groups:
The reason Supplemental Security Income and Veterans Affairs beneficiaries are still able to use Non-Filers Enter Payment Info Here to report dependents while other federal benefits recipients can’t basically comes down to who has already been issued a payment.
Who should not use Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here?
Americans whose Economic Impact Payments are already scheduled should not use the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool. After all, the check is in the mail (or the direct deposit is pending, if they chose that option). The IRS says this group includes “taxpayers who have already filed or who are required to file a 2019 tax return” and “people who already received their payment, even if they did not receive the full amount.”
Similarly, federal beneficiaries whose payments have already been scheduled will not be able to use the tool to report dependents. Instead, they will need to file an EIP return to get the additional $500 per qualifying child.
Does Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here have instructions?
The last part of the release covers something of mild importance: how to use the EIP reporting tool on IRS.gov. The IRS emphasized how easy it is to use the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool, breaking the process down into two basic steps:
First, taxpayers should visit IRS.gov and go to Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here
Then, provide basic information
Finding the Non-Filers page on IRS.gov is pretty straightforward. As soon as the home page loads, visitors should see the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here link on the upper-left-hand corner of the screen. The “basic information” the IRS wants is the general financial data you’re probably expecting. Here’s the list from the Non-Filers page:
While setting up the IRS.gov account, users will also need to provide a phone number and create a username and password. If any of your clients are going to use the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool, their chosen password and username need to be unique to IRS.gov and follow best practices, like those the IRS published in January.
Sources: COVID Tax Tip 2020-48; Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here
