The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a video, available here, providing non-filers of federal tax returns with guidance to receive their economic impact payments, authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) in response to the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) health crisis.
The video notes that most people who qualify for an economic impact payment will receive the payment automatically. However, some individuals must take additional action at www.irs.gov/eip in order to claim their economic impact payment, or to claim their additional payment for dependent children under age 17.
Those who must take additional action include:
- Individuals whose income level in 2018 and 2019 did not require a tax return; or
- Individuals who were not required to file a tax return, have dependent children under 17 years old, and receive
- Social Security benefits (retirement, disability insurance, survivor benefits, or Supplemental Security Income),
- Railroad Retirement and survivor benefits, or
- Veterans Affairs benefits (disability, pension, or survivor).
The video goes on to advise consumers to be aware of scams, noting that “the [Internal Revenue Service] will never reach out to you to ask for your personal information.” Additionally, the CFPB reminds consumers that direct deposit is the fastest way to receive a disbursal from the IRS, but other methods including prepaid cards and paper checks also are available.
In addition to the video, the CFPB has released a blog post with answers to FAQs regarding economic impact payments, which is available here.