IRS extends time for $500 per child stimulus payments

The Internal Revenue Service is giving taxpayers more time until Nov. 21 to register their dependents for the $500 per child Economic Impact Payments provided under the CARES Act.

The Internal Revenue Service is giving taxpayers more time until Nov. 21 to register their dependents for the $500 per child Economic Impact Payments provided under the CARES Act.

The IRS said Monday that it’s extending the time to give people who were unable to provide their information earlier. Under the CARES Act that was passed by Congress in March in response to the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic, the IRS sent out $1,200 to each taxpayer, plus an additional $500 per child. It originally relied on information from taxpayers’ 2018 and 2019 tax returns, but since in many cases the information was missing, out of date or incomplete, the IRS set up a portal where taxpayers could register their information.

An estimated 9 million people haven't yet received an Economic Impact Payment. The IRS needs to send out the stimulus by the end of the year. It is extending the timeline for registering until 3:00 p.m. ET on Nov 21. The deadline had been Sept. 30 until the latest extension.

CORONAVIRUS IMPACT: ADDITIONAL COVERAGE

Tom Benton, Partner at ReSource Pro is an industry thought leader with experience as an insurance CIO and as an industry analyst and consultant. Tom leverages his experience to help insurers prepare for and implement strategic transformation initiatives. Tom also advises insurance technology providers on how to better align with industry needs and trends.

Tom's passion is to help insurers and their technology providers develop strategic plans to successfully implement innovative solutions for improving customer experience, reducing risks, and increasing operational efficiency. Tom has over 20 years of experience directing successful IT strategies at numerous organizations, including as CIO at an insurance carrier and as CIO / CTO at non-profit organizations. He also has nearly 10 years of experience providing advisory and consulting services to insurers and insurance technology providers, including major core systems vendors, IT services providers, and insurtech startups. Tom's expertise includes IT capability assessment, IT strategic plan development, transformation preparedness, customer experience, and vendor selection.

Prior to joining Strategy Meets Action, Tom served as VP of Research and Consulting at Novarica, Chief Information Officer at Navy Mutual and CIO/CTO at two major nonprofits in the Washington, DC area. He holds a master's degree from MIT and a bachelor's degree from Cornell University.

Tom has contributed to numerous industry reports and insurance publications and has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences and webinars.

Eric Zimmerman leads the behavior design and consumer engagement practices at RedBrick Health, a Minneapolis-based health engagement company that helps employers deliver higher performing well-being benefits. Learn more at: https://home.redbrickhealth.com or email Eric at: ezimmerman@redbrickhealth.com

Derek Carter

Derek Carter is chief operating officer of Ceterus, a developer of cloud-based accounting and benchmarking reporting solutions.

Following recent IRS programming updates, anyone who registers using the Non-Filers: Enter Info Here before the 3 p.m. Eastern Nov. 21 extended due date will receive an Economic Impact Payment, if they’re eligible. That includes federal beneficiaries who already received an EIP but didn’t receive a supplemental $500 payment for qualifying children.

The IRS headquarters in Washington
The IRS headquarters in Washington.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

The additional time will enable them to enter the information on their qualifying children using the Non-Filers tool on IRS.gov.

Advertisement

Those who are eligible to provide this information 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 is also encouraging anybody who didn’t have a requirement to file a tax return in 2018 or 2019 to register for an Economic Impact Payment by using the Non-Filers tool before the Nov. 21 deadline. The IRS originally didn’t have information on many of these taxpayers, so it was unable to send them the initial round of stimulus payments.

The IRS is encouraging people to choose direct deposit to receive their payments, as it will speed up processing when using the Non-Filers tool. Those who don’t choose this option will get a check in the mail instead. Starting two weeks after they register, people can track the status of their stimulus payments using the Get My Payment tool, accessible from IRS.gov.