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relied on information from taxpayers’ 2018 and 2019 tax returns, but since in many cases the information was missing, out of date or incomplete, the IRS set up a portal where taxpayers could register their information.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

Shari Dodgen is the Director of Strategic Relationships and Product Marketing for Mid/large firms at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting North America. She is responsible for defining the overall product marketing strategy for the company’s award-winning professional software products, as well as building and expanding strategic relationships with professional associations and accounting organizations to drive increased value to individual firms.

In addition to her 12 years as publisher of Cygnus Business Media’s CPA Technology Advisor, Shari has extensive experience developing integrated custom media programs and expertise in business-to-business communications, including strategic planning, partnership development, program execution, marketing and sales.

Jim McGinnis is EVP and General Manager for the Professional Market of Wolters Kluwer’s Tax and Accounting North America business unit. In this role, he is responsible for the CCH solutions including CCH Axcess Suite, CCH ProSystem fx as well as ATX Professional Tax.
Prior to Wolters Kluwer, Jim held a variety of roles as Vice President at Intuit including marketing for the then Accountant’s Professional Division, leader of the Accountant Segment for QuickBooks, and Product Management for Lacerte and ProSeries.

Amanda Wilkie, a consultant at Boomer Consulting, Inc., has a computer science background, but she’s not your average geek. With two decades of technology experience, Amanda has spent 13 years driving change and process improvement through innovative technology solutions working across firms of varying sizes in the public accounting profession. She has held strategic leadership positions in firms ranging from Top 50 to Top 10 including her most recent role as CIO of a Top 30 firm. Wilkie is a recognized expert in the profession who regularly speaks and writes on blockchain and cryptocurrency and their impact on the profession.

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.

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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.