IRS extends deadline to claim extra $500 for children from COVID-19 stimulus checks
FILE - Economic stimulus checks are prepared for printing at the Philadelphia Financial Center. (Photo by Jeff Fusco/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service announced Aug. 18 that it extended the deadline for people with dependent children who did not receive the supplementary $500 in COVID-19 stimulus funds.
Enacted in March, the CARES Act set up one-time payments of $1,200 for individuals who earn less than $75,000 annually and $2,400 for couples who earn less than $150,000, while also providing $500 for each child under the age of 17.
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According to the IRS, people with children now have until Sept. 30 to submit information about their dependents to receive the $500 payment.
"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," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
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In order to receive the payment, eligible people need to submit the necessary information about their qualifying children and dependents using the agency’s “Non-Filers tool.”
“For those Social Security, SSI, Department of Veterans Affairs and Railroad Retirement Board beneficiaries who have already used the Non-Filers tool to provide information on children, no further action is needed. The IRS will automatically make a payment in October,” according to the agency’s website.
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People who are not required to file 2020 tax returns are still eligible to receive the $500 payment relief, according to the IRS. Those individuals should also use the “Non-Filers tool” to receive their payment.
The IRS has been criticized for giving Social Security recipients and railroad retirement beneficiaries less than three days to act to receive the $500 payment. If people with children did not provide the IRS with the necessary information, the agency said they would not be paid until they file their 2020 tax return.
FOX Business contributed to this report.