SSA and RRB beneficiaries with dependents who don’t normally file a tax return need to report eligible children to the IRS by noon EST tomorrow to quickly get an additional $500 per qualifying child in their Economic Impact Payment.
Since Economic Impact Payments were authorized by the CARES Act at the end of March, the Internal Revenue Service has worked with tax industry partners to raise awareness about various aspects of the EIP program. While the majority of taxpayers will automatically receive their payment, the agency wants to make sure a subset of non-filers know that they need to use online tools to report qualifying information. This week, the IRS highlighted the Wednesday, April 22 EIP reporting deadline for Social Security Administration (SSA) and Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) beneficiaries with dependents who receive certain federal benefits.
Why do SSA and RRB beneficiaries need to report dependents by Wednesday, April 22?
Non-filers who receive certain federal benefits—Railroad Retirement, Social Security, Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income, and Veterans Affairs beneficiaries, specifically—will automatically receive a $1,200 Economic Impact Payment. However, since these groups do not regularly file a tax return or list dependents in the application for their benefits, government agencies do not have that information.
While all of these government beneficiaries will need to report qualifying dependents—children younger than 17—to receive the additional $500 per qualifying child, the IRS release specifically notes that SSA and RRB beneficiaries who report by the deadline could get that money issued at the same time as their $1,200 EIP.
How do non-filers report qualifying dependents to the IRS?
The IRS launched the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool on IRS.gov for non-filers to report EIP-qualifying information. To use it, either follow the provided link or go to IRS.gov, follow the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here link, then scroll down to and click the blue Enter your information button.
Will SSA and RRB beneficiaries who miss the Wednesday, April 22 EIP reporting deadline be able to receive the additional $500 payments?
SSA and RRB beneficiaries who miss tomorrow’s deadline can still receive an additional $500 payment per qualifying dependent. They simply have to wait longer to receive additional payments if they report qualifying dependents after noon on April 22.
However, the IRS says those who miss the deadline will not be able to use the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool to report that information. Instead, they will need to file an EIP return.
Source: IR-2020-76
MEA Tax Advisors