Stimulus checks and monthly child tax credit payments can still be claimed if taxes are filed by November deadline

THERE’S still time for eligible Americans to apply for crucial Covid-19 stimulus checks if they do so “as soon as possible” and also be able to receive monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments before the end of the year after the IRS offered a new deadline. 

If Americans file a 2020 tax return before the end of the year they can take advantage of the third round of stimulus. And if they file their returns “on or before” Nov. 1, they can possibly receive some of the final two mid-monthly CTC payments. 

POSSIBLE PENALTY

“File a 2020 tax return electronically as soon as possible to give the IRS time to process and issue the payments before the end of 2021,” the agency stated in a recent release.

Conversely, the agency offered a Nov. 1 for families to “have their 2020 return processed on or before Nov. 1, may be eligible for two payments of half the credit in 2021.” 

There is a blitz right now for the agency trying to encourage Americans who requested extensions that they only have a few more weeks left or face a late penalty.

“The Internal Revenue Service today reminds taxpayers about the upcoming October 15 due date to file 2020 tax returns,” the agency stated in a release.

“People who asked for an extension should file on or before the extension deadline to avoid the penalty for filing late.”

The agency is hoping to impress on those Americans who are owed a refund that there is “usually no penalty to file” those people “who wait too long to file and claim a refund, risk losing it altogether.”

Read our stimulus checks live blog for the latest updates on Covid-19 relief...

GETABLE THIRD STIMULUS

If you missed out on the first rounds of stimulus, there is still time to stake a claim.  

Those individuals who missed out on the first or second round of stimulus checks - or were shorted the full amount of money they’re owed - can still apply, Yahoo! Finance reported.

The IRS advises that to the key to getting a last-minute stimulus check is to file a 2020 tax return.

And while tax returns are paramount, many families who are qualified to collect the aid can do so without having filed a return at all. 

The IRS has sought to help these needy families who are qualified for CTC, but likely didn’t earn enough to have to file a return to use their nonfiler portal.  

The agency will determine the person’s eligibility for the third stimulus payment.

More than 169million payments have benefited Americans since March.

The three stimulus checks started coming to lend a helping backstop since the  Covid pandemic came to American soil.

Checks, worth $1,400, are part of President Joe Biden’s $1.9trillion American Rescue Plan package that was signed into law on March 13.

The majority of those checks are being paid through direct deposit but there are a “less than 15 per cent” amount that are paper checks and being sent through the post for August. 

The second infusion of funds is expected to reach about 1.6 million more children than the first send out back in July, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) confirmed.

More families are also getting the federal government’s memo that if they are eligible - and even if they didn’t file taxes by May 17, they can still file and receive stimulus support. 

The stimulus aid has been proven to help countless Americans. 

“We believe the success of the federal government’s relief measures may be due to the speed, breadth, and flexibility of its broad-based approach, primarily relying on cash transfers,” a report published by researchers at Poverty Solutions of the Census Bureau study stated.

The study determined that once aid was coming in between December 2020 and April 2021, food insufficiency dropped by over 40 per cent. 

Federal funds were also responsible for easing 45 per cent with financial insufficiency for low-income households; and there was a 20 per cent drop in reports of depression symptoms.

CAN DO CTC 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the US Treasury Department are have been dispersing checks worth $300 per month for every American child they have under six.

For families with children aged between six and 17, the sum drops to $250 per month.

The third batch of the enhanced CTC amounts to $15 billion and reached “about 35 million” American families according to the IRS.

Those who don’t want a monthly check can opt-out or seek a lump sum for up to $3,600 per kid in 2022.

Most of the checks are distributed through direct deposit, but the IRS confirms many prefer to receive paper checks in the mail. 

To figure out if the payment is coming in paper or direct deposit - the IRS has set up a Child Tax Credit Update Portal.

To determine whether or not a family is eligible to take advantage of the CTC payments, the IRS is poring over the family’s most recent tax filing.