Missing $500 coronavirus stimulus payment? Claim it now

Updated on

Many low-income families reported that their $500 coronavirus stimulus payment per child was missing from their first check. The window for them to claim the extra money closed, but the IRS has reopened it. Low-income families no longer have to wait until they file their 2020 taxes to claim the missing coronavirus stimulus payment.

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Non-filer tool reopens for missing coronavirus stimulus payments

Low-income families usually do not file taxes. As a result, the IRS did not have information about their dependents. That meant many of them missed out on the $500 coronavirus stimulus payment per child. To get the extra payment for dependents, those who don't file taxes had to use the non-filer tool on the IRS' website.

The non-filers tool can be found here. Parents are eligible to receive $500 each for children under the age of 17. Non-filers who are missing the $500 coronavirus stimulus payment per child can use the tool between Aug. 15 and Sept. 30 to claim the extra money.

Those who don't meet this second deadline will have to wait until the file their 2020 taxes to receive the rest of the payment. Since most of these families don't file taxes, they might miss out on the payment entirely, which makes it extremely important to use the non-filers tool before the new deadline.

If you use the tool by Sept. 30, you will receive the extra $500 per child by mid-October. Non-filers who never received any of their first coronavirus stimulus check have until Oct. 15 to provide information by using the non-filers tool.

Filed before May 17? Missing coronavirus stimulus payment coming soon

If you filed before the May deadline, you don't have to take any further action to receive the extra $500 per child. The payment should be arriving soon if it hasn't already.

The IRS said that those who used the non-filers tool before May 17 will start receiving their missing coronavirus stimulus payments this month. According to the agency, they didn't receive the child portion of the coronavirus stimulus check because of an error that it corrected on May 17.

The IRS will automatically issue the extra $500 payment per child to these non-filers. Direct deposits were scheduled for Aug. 5, and paper checks were scheduled to be mailed Aug. 7. Those who received the first $1,200 or $2,400 of their payment via direct deposit will receive the child portion of the payment in the same bank account.

If you filed before the May deadline and still haven't received your extra $500 per child, you can use the Get My Payment tool here to track the rest of the money. If you still have questions, you can call the IRS' phone number for coronavirus stimulus checks, which is 1-800-919-9835.

Where do we stand on a second round of stimulus checks?

Unfortunately, the second round of coronavirus stimulus checks remains in limbo as lawmakers have been unable to reach a deal. The White House is trying to push for a deal and even offered to compromise on providing funds for the U.S. Postal Service, but Democrats still aren't willing to reach an agreement.

Even though it seems like a waste of time, Senate Republicans are getting ready to reveal a smaller coronavirus relief package as early as today. The package will likely include $10 billion earmarked for the Postal Service.

In addition to the funds for the Postal Service, the GOP's coronavirus relief package is also expected to include liability protections for businesses, healthcare workers and schools and an extra $300 per week in federal unemployment benefits. Democrats strongly oppose liability protections and won't compromise on the extra unemployment funds because they want to extend the extra $600 per week.

Waste of time?

As a result, it seems like a total waste of time for the GOP to reveal such a bill. It has virtually no chance of receiving approval from Democrats. They've been pushing for a $2 trillion price tag on the bill, which would be a decrease from the $3 trillion they originally wanted and an increase from the $1 trillion Republicans wanted.

However, the new GOP coronavirus relief package moves in the opposite direction and costs less than $1 trillion. It also doesn't include a second round of coronavirus stimulus checks, which has had bipartisan support for some time.