Stimulus Checks: IRS Sets Major Deadline for Some Veterans, Seniors and Other Non-Filing Citizens

The Internal Revenue Service has just set a new deadline for certain citizens that are awaiting a stimulus check, formally known as the Economic Impact Payment. Anyone who receives Social Security retirement or disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income, VA benefits or Railroad Retirement benefits have until noon ET on Wednesday, April 22 to update their information if they're planning on claiming dependents.

As reported by Forbes, anyone who receives those above benefits is already slated to receive the one-time payment of $1200. However, those who have children and did not file a tax return in 2018 or 2019 will need to use this special non-filer portal on IRS.gov by April 22 to update their dependent information. Each claimed dependent will automatically add $500 to each stimulus payment. IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said they "want to 'Plus $500' these recipients with children so they can get their maximum Economic Impact Payment of $1,200 plus $500 for each eligible child as quickly as possible."

"They'll get $1,200 automatically, but they need to act quickly and register at IRS.gov to get the extra $500 per child added to their payment," Rettig said. "These groups don't normally have a return filing obligation and may not realize they qualify for a larger payment. We're asking people and organizations throughout the country to share this information widely and help the IRS with the Plus $500 Push."

while Supplemental Security Income and VA benefits will need to visit IRS.gov to update their respective dependents, although they will have some time beyond the April 22 deadline. However, no specific window of time was given, and are still encouraged to do so as soon as possible. Once the checks have been issued, recipients will be unable to claim dependents after the fact.

There have been other issues with the slow rollout of stimulus payments, including the fact that the IRS has been making payments into the same accounts tied in with individuals' 2018 or 2019 filings -- many of which are no longer valid. The agency has tried to alleviate some of the issues with a tracking feature called Get My Payment, which ended up crashing its website last week after an influx of traffic.

Along with the one-time payments, there's also a much-discussed second round being discussed in Congress. Among them is the Emergency Money for the People Act, which would guarantee a monthly stipend for at least six months.