Economic Impact Payments – What You Need to Know

The Internal Revenue Service has extended the deadline for individuals to claim an Economic Impact Payment by five weeks to help individuals who have not received a stimulus payment. The Get My Payment tool explains that users have until November 21 Midnight ET to request their economic impact payment. Eligible individuals can also visit IRS.gov and use the Get My Payment tool to find out the status of their Economic Impact Payment. This tool will show if a payment has been issued and whether the payment was direct deposited or sent by mail. Get My Payment tool might give a user the option of providing their bank account information to receive their payment by direct deposit. For example, if an individual’s payment was sent by mail and the Post Office was unable to deliver it. An individual must file a 2019 tax return to receive the payment if required to do so. The IRS provides an online database of authorized e-file providers for individuals to electronically file their tax return.

Important security features when using the Get My Payment tool
• Before using the Get My Payment tool, an individual must verify their identity by answering security questions.
• If the answers to the security questions do not match IRS records after multiple attempts, the user will be locked out of the tool for 24 hours. This is for security reasons. Those who can’t verify their identity won’t be able to use Get My Payment. If this happens, people should not contact the IRS.
• If the tool returns a message of “payment status not available,” this may mean the IRS can’t determine the person’s eligibility for a payment right now. There are several reasons this could happen. Two common reasons are:
o A 2018 or 2019 tax return is not on file and the agency needs more information or,
o The individual could be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.
• In some cases, if a taxpayer has filed their 2019 tax return but the IRS hasn’t processed it yet, they may receive “payment status not available.” Taxpayers who’ve already filed a tax return don’t need to take any action. The IRS continues to issue Economic Impact Payments as tax returns are processed.

While millions of Americans have received their economic impact payments, some may have to provide additional information to the IRS to get their payments. Questions regarding eligibility requirements, requesting an economic impact payment, calculating an economic impact payment and more can be answered here.

Individuals who are not required to file a tax return
There is a tool for Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here to register for a payment. To be eligible to fill out the non-filer application, an individual must be eligible for an Economic Impact Payment and the individual is not required to file federal income tax returns for 2018 and 2019 for any reason including:
• The individual’s income is less than $12,200
• The individual is married filing jointly and together the income is less than $24,000, and
• The individual has no income.

Individuals who can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return should also not use the non-filer tool. The IRS underscores that individuals should not use this tool if they are filing a 2019 tax return. If an individual was required to file a 2019 tax return but they used the Non-Filer tool, this could delay processing their tax return and their Economic Impact Payment. More information about non-filers can be accessed here.

VW Contributor: Skylar Young
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