Stimulus Checks, Child Tax Credit: Deadline for submission tool on November 17th

WASHINGTON – November 17 is an important deadline for millions of Americans who may have yet to claim Stimulus Checks and early child tax credit Payments from 2021.

Last month, the IRS began sending out letters to warn about 9 million people who have not claimed benefits, including COVID-19 stimulus payments extended child allowance and the income tax credit.

In many of these cases, all you need to do is file a 2021 federal income tax return, even if you haven’t had to file one in recent years.

But you should act quickly.

That IRS Free File Tool is open until midnight Eastern this year through Thursday, November 17. After Thursday, you can still claim the missing payments by filing a federal tax return.

In cases where no federal income tax return has been filed, the law gives most taxpayers a three-year window to apply for a tax refund. So Thursday’s deadline is just for using the simplified free submission tool.

About 165 million Americans were eligible for the three rounds of stimulus payments approved by Congress since the coronavirus pandemic began. But data from the IRS and Treasury Department suggests between 9 million and 10 million of them have not received the payments, the US Government Accountability Office said this week.

The federal government made a particular effort to distribute the stimulus checks and child tax credit pre-check to those with lower incomes, limited Internet access or homelessness, GAO said.

The extended child allowance was originally offered by President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The government says some families may be unclaiming up to $3,600 per child, as well as other payments owed to them.

The expanded program has helped tens of millions of children and their families amid the COVID pandemic and contributed to a 46% drop in child poverty since 2020, according to a September Census Bureau report.

Since the program ended, there have already been indications of child poverty increases. Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy estimates that 3.7 million more children were living in poverty through January — a 41% increase from December, when families received their last check.

There are efforts in Congress to make the loan permanently available to all families with children.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.