Delayed $1,400 stimulus checks: Non-filers will get payments by April 7, IRS says
Stimulus checks that have previously been delayed to millions of Social Security recipients and other federal beneficiaries will be sent out on April 7, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) sent the IRS missing files last week that have caused a delay in stimulus payments for 30 million Americans, a press release from the House Ways and Means Committee said.
Those payments will be sent out this weekend to those beneficiaries and other people who don’t typically file a tax return, the agency said Tuesday. The money will be disbursed through direct deposits and payments to Direct Express cards.
“Our teams immediately began processing data we received last week for federal benefit recipients. We know how important these payments are, and we are doing everything we can to make these payments as fast as possible to these important individuals,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
The IRS’s “Get My Payment” tool will be updated once the stimulus checks are processed, which won’t be until this weekend for federal beneficiaries who are expecting payments next week, according to the IRS.
The House committee had put pressure on the SAA last week, demanding that the delayed payment information be sent to the IRS “immediately.”
“The IRS asked SSA to start sending payment files two weeks before the American Rescue Plan became law on March 11, 2021,” said Rep. Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat and committee chairman.
SAA commissioner Andrew Saul attributed the delay to an apparent lack of staff funding.
Saul said in a statement that “despite the fact that Congress did not directly provide SSA funding to support our work on EIPs (Economic Impact Payments)... we have worked tirelessly with our counterparts at IRS to provide to them the information they need to issue payments to our beneficiaries.”
A House committee spokesperson told Newsweek that explanation did not stand up to scrutiny, saying funds ”were appropriated to Treasury with the intent that they would be distributed to SSA in a timely manner.”
“It inexplicably took two weeks for the transfer to happen after the American Rescue Plan was signed into law, which is a clear failure of leadership from SSA,” the spokesperson said.
Who’s eligible for a stimulus check?
The third round of stimulus checks — up to $1,400 for most Americans — was included in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue plan signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11. Some Americans have seen payments show up in their bank accounts, and millions got them through direct deposit on March 17.
Individuals making less than $75,000 qualify for a $1,400 payment, while couples making less than $150,000 qualify for a combined $2,800 payment, plus $1,400 per child or adult dependent.
The payments phase out for individuals earning more than $75,000 a year and joint filers earning more than $150,000 a year, with payments capping out at annual incomes of $80,000 and $160,000, respectively.
The IRS said it will automatically send stimulus checks to people who didn’t file a tax return but get Social Security retirement, disability or survivor benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits, Supplemental Security Income or Veterans Affairs benefits.
