Stimulus Checks: Free IRS Tool Allows Millions to Claim Relief Payment

It has been five months since Congress released its first stimulus package, the CARES Act. Under that plan, eligible Americans received a one-time $1,200 (or $2,400 for couples filing a joint tax return) and $500 additionally for every child claimed as a dependent. While it has been quite some time since this first plan was enacted, many Americans have still not received their payments from the government. Luckily, there is a free tool from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that you can check out to claim your relief payment.

As Fox 4 Kansas City reported, there are millions of individuals who do not typically file income taxes that are entitled to an economic impact payment from the federal government. To figure out how you can obtain these payments, you can check out the free IRS Non-Filers Tool to receive yours. If you have not already obtained the additional $500 for claiming a dependent, you can check out that tool to receive it. You have until Sept. 30 to give your qualifying child's information to obtain that payment. To receive your own $1,200 payment, you can check out the same tool. Although, you would need to do so before Oct. 15. If you miss either of those deadlines, you can still obtain your economic impact payment from the government. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, if you do miss those deadlines, you would have to file a 2020 tax return next year to receive your payment sometime in 2021.

While this may be good news for those who are still seeking their original $1,200 payment from the CARES Act, many Americans are currently wondering whether additional payment is on the way. As of right now, Congress is at a standstill regarding stimulus negotiations. Since Congress is currently on recess until after Labor Day, it could be some time until Americans receive another economic impact payment. Even though they are on recess, many are urging Congress to take immediate action on this topic, as there could be dire consequences if they do not act soon.

According to Dennis Lockhart, the Atlanta Fed president from 2007 to 2017, the United States could be facing a "double-dip" recession situation if the coronavirus outbreak is not managed well and if there is no economic relief from the government. Lockhart explained during an appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box Asia that although there was a brief recovery in early summer when businesses began to reopen, that period may not last long as the pandemic continues. "I continue to believe that looking forward you have to consider a range of scenarios and among those scenarios would be, obviously, a pessimistic one and that could be a double-dip," he said. "If things go badly with the management of the virus and there's more cascading — which (Thursday's) numbers of initial claims might suggest — then yes, it's possible we have a double-dip. I don't think that's probably the base case, but I think it's still possible."