THE Inland Revenue Service has urged people who don’t normally file a tax return to do one for the 2020 tax year as soon as possible so they can get their third stimulus checks.
The IRS said people on low incomes and who didn’t usually file their taxes should do, so they can get upcoming child tax credits and other credits they may be due.
Under the American Rescue Plan, Americans who made up to $75,000 in 2020 with get the maximum $1,400 check.
Couples who file taxes jointly and made up to $150,000 will get $2,800.
The amount received though drops to zero for individuals who made up to $80,000 and couples who earned $160,000.
There's a $1,400 kicker for each dependent in the household.
The homeless, rural poor and others may qualify for the Economic Impact Payments, but the IRS said they may not normally need to file a tax return due to their financial situation.
The IRS said it needs the information in a 2020 tax return to ensure it can send the correct amount, especially if anyone added a dependent last year.
Last month, the IRS extended the tax return deadline from April 15 to May 17.
The new child tax credit is set to start in July and parents will get an advance on their annual payment.
The amount has risen in 2021 from $2,000 to $3,000 for children 6-17 and $3,600 for children under age 6.
Using an online portal that will be set up, parents will have the option of getting the first half in monthly instalments from July to December and the rest at tax time or they can get it all at once when they file their taxes next year.
The change is designed to reduce child poverty by giving parents the money as they need it, rather than in a one-off payment.
The IRS said it needs to know if a family that doesn’t normally file income taxes added a child in 2020, so it can send out the right amount.
People who have not filed tax returns may also be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, but the IRS also said it may need to see their 2020 tax return to know.
The news comes after the IRS sent out nearly two million stimulus checks this week as part of the fifth batch of payments to struggling Americans.
Veterans were included in the latest round of stimulus checks bringing the total number of payments to 159 million.
Of the two million checks sent out, more than 850,000 were sent to people who didn't have information on file at the IRS.
Over 320,000 payments were sent to the Veterans Affairs (VA) beneficiaries who receive Compensation and Pension (C&P) payments but who did not file their 2019 or 2020 taxes.
The latest batch also included more than 700,000 "plus-up" payments for Americans who had their third check based on their 2019 tax return and are not eligible for another payment.
The majority of the checks sent out, 1.2 million, were directly deposited into bank accounts while close to 800,000 were sent in the form of a paper check.
In this round of payments each individual was given $1,400 plus a bonus of $1,400 per dependent.
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