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relied on information from taxpayers’ 2018 and 2019 tax returns, but since in many cases the information was missing, out of date or incomplete, the IRS set up a portal where taxpayers could register their information.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
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Jennifer Briggs, CAE, is president and CEO of the Indiana CPA Society. She joined the society staff in 2002 and served as the special projects manager, marketing manager, marketing director, director of member services, vice president of member services, senior vice president and chief operating officer. Before joining the society, Briggs spent three years at KWK Management Group as executive director of five state-wide associations overseeing all activities of the organizations, including education programs, marketing, membership recruitment, and various government relations activities. Prior to that, she worked for the Indiana Apartment Association and for five years at the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. Briggs earned a degree in marketing from Marian College and an MBA from Butler University, and is a member of the American Society of Association Executives and the Indiana Society of Association Executives. In 2009, she was awarded the Association Professional of the Year award from ISAE. She has served on the American Society of Association Executives CAE Exam Committee, the AICPA’s Future of Learning Committee and various community boards of directors.

Elizabeth Mitchell is President and CEO of the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH), an action-oriented 501c(3) non-profit organization focused on improving health outcomes, experience and affordability for consumers and purchasers across the United States. Mitchell is a transformational healthcare leader whose career has focused on improving health outcomes and affordability.

Matthew Doyle is the chief operating officer and head of investor relations at Chicago Pacific Founders.

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.