Many are still dealing with the constraints of financial hardships due to coronavirus-related stay-at-home orders. Luckily, a pair of recent IRS announcements should help Americans who still need to report qualifying information receive their Economic Impact Payment.
The agency reminded Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits recipients about an upcoming Economic Impact Payment reporting deadline, and they announced general improvements to the EIP-tracking tool, Get My Payment.
What is an Economic Impact Payment?
Economic Impact Payments are CARES Act-authorized Treasury payments of up to $1,200 plus an additional $500 per each qualifying dependent under 17 that is claimed by eligible Americans. Since the IRS determines eligibility based on an individual’s AGI, qualifying Americans who have filed a tax return in the past two years generally won’t have to do anything to receive their EIP.
Americans who receive certain government benefits will also receive their $1,200 payment automatically. But—pertinent to the recent deadline announcements—beneficiaries who can claim a dependent still need to provide that information to the IRS by using the online Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool or filing a simple EIP return. Unfortunately, the window for using Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here is quickly closing.
What is the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here reporting deadline for SSI and VA beneficiaries?
Americans who receive Supplemental Security Income and Veterans Affairs benefits have until May 5 to use Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here to report dependents that qualify for the additional $500 Economic Impact Payment. Two things happen when beneficiaries miss the deadline:
- They will not be able to use the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool to report qualifying dependents.
- The additional $500 payments will be issued separately from the scheduled $1,200 payments
If an SSI or VA beneficiary you know—whether a family member or current client—misses the May 5 deadline, don’t worry. They can still receive the additional $500 per qualifying dependent if they file an “EIP” return. Luckily, most professional tax software supports these simple returns.
Who can use Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here to report EIP-qualifying information to the IRS after the May 5, 2020, deadline?
Qualifying Americans who don’t normally file a tax return and are not automatically receiving the $1,200 portion of the Economic Impact Payment should still be able to use Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here after the May 5, 2020, deadline.
When did the IRS improve the Get My Payment Economic Impact Payment reporting tool on IRS.gov?
The IRS announced that it has updated the Get My Payment tool over the weekend, addressing reported issues with the launch version of the application. While the agency did not provide a list of specific updates, it noted that “the additional changes will help millions of additional taxpayers with new or expanded information and access to adding direct deposit information.”
Be sure to check IRS.gov for more information about Get My Payment, Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here, and other COVID-19 tax updates. Stay safe out there.
Source:IR-2020-82
