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relied on information from taxpayers’ 2018 and 2019 tax returns, but since in many cases the information was missing, out of date or incomplete, the IRS set up a portal where taxpayers could register their information.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.
Al Anderson, CPA, has been a global leader in accounting and assurance advancement for more than 30 years. Over the course of his career, he has been named to Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People a number of times, most recently in 2017, 2018 and 2019. As president and founder of Account-ability Plus, LLC, he has worked directly with auditors and firms for over 25 years to transform their operations for auditing in the future, achieve efficiency and effectiveness, and surpass client expectations. He is also a nationally recognized consultant, educator and speaker, and guides his clients and their staff through uniquely designed programs and assessments with a future-focused, reality-based approach. Having led innovation for the profession as a firm partner, director, and AICPA executive, Anderson continues to advance insight and dedicate himself to driving accounting firm excellence. He recently led the AICPA/ Rutgers Data Analytics initiative and served as advisor to the AICPA and their Audit of the Future initiatives.
Patrick Donovan is a senior vice president at Bright Horizons, the nation’s largest provider of education benefits.
William Mullin is president of Hoover Financial Advisors in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
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 additional time will enable them to enter the information on their qualifying children using the Non-Filers tool on IRS.gov.
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.
