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Government stimulus packages enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic provided financial relief to about 165 million Americans, but many still haven’t received their payments — and time is running out to claim them.
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A report released this week by the Government Accounting Office found that between 9 million and 10 million individuals have not yet received their payments, which were first sent out more than two years ago.
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Taxpayers who missed the April 15, 2022 filing deadline have until Oct. 17, 2022, to file their taxes and claim any stimulus money owed.
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For individuals who don’t have enough income to have filed income taxes, the deadline to claim your stimulus payment is Nov. 15, 2022.
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In this case, you’ll just need to complete a simplified tax return to get your payment.
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From April 2020 to December 2021, the U.S. government made three separate direct COVID-19 stimulus payments to Americans, totaling $931 billion.
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These payments mainly went to U.S. citizens with annual incomes below $75,000 or married couples with income below $150,000.
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The government also expanded the Child Tax Credit to boost the payment amount and include more families.
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However, the IRS and U.S. Treasury Department ran into numerous issues processing and distributing the payments, which is why millions of Americans still haven’t gotten the payments they are due.
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According to the GAO, you might not have received a payment if any of these situations apply:
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Never filed a tax return Filed for the first time Did not have a bank account or otherwise lacked access to banks Your family has a mixed immigrant status You have limited or no internet access You have experienced homelessness
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The IRS and Treasury Department have launched numerous outreach programs to locate Americans who have not yet received their stimulus payments, but ongoing customer service issues have impeded the effort.
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Congress looks to ease the problem with a recent spending package that earmarks $80 billion for the IRS over the next 10 years, The Hill reported — the biggest boost in decades. About $33 billion of that will go toward operational support, services for payers and systems modernization.
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Meanwhile, if you believe you are still owed a stimulus payment, the GAO advises visiting these IRS pages — irs.gov/coronavirus/EIP and ChildTaxCredit.gov — to find information on how to complete and submit a tax return.