Millions of Americans Are Still Eligible for a Stimulus Check, and Time Is Running Out

As the Internal Revenue Service continues to send out stimulus payments, President Donald Trump touted the agency's Get My Payment tool this week on Twitter, telling people to click "to receive your money FAST.” (CNN via Wire Services)

Millions of Americans are still eligible to get a COVID-19-related stimulus payment, the IRS stated in a recent update. Some households are eligible for a potentially large payment.

About 9 million primarily low-income individuals haven’t claimed either all or portions of several stimulus payments that have been sent out since 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency in its statement.

As a result, the IRS is now sending letters to these millions of people. The agency is also sending letters to families who didn’t claim Child Tax Credits (CTC), Recovery Rebate Credits, or Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC), the agency stated, noting that it applies to people who haven’t filed a 2021 tax return.

“The IRS wants to remind potentially eligible people, especially families, that they may qualify for these valuable tax credits,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement. “We encourage people who haven’t filed a tax return yet for 2021 to review these options. Even if they aren’t required to file a tax return, they may still qualify for several important credits. We don’t want people to overlook these tax credits, and the letters will remind people of their potential eligibility and steps they can take.”

People can possibly obtain payments of more than $10,000 if they haven’t taken the expanded child and dependent care credit of up to $8,000, stimulus payments of $1,400 per individual, the 2021 expanded CTC worth as much as $3,600 per child, and the EITC.

“The letters are similar to a special IRS mailing made in September 2020 encouraging 9 million potential non-filers to submit a tax return for the first Economic Impact Payment. This is part of an ongoing effort to encourage people who aren’t normally required to file to look into possible benefits available to them under the tax law. Every year, people can overlook filing a tax return when they may be entitled to tax credits and a refund,” the IRS said in the release.

Oct. 17 is the deadline for individuals who got an extension to file their taxes. The IRS said its Free File program will stay open until Nov. 17.

The IRS release noted that people can file a return even if they haven’t got a letter from the agency, noting that there’s no penalty for a refund claimed on a tax return after the standard April 2022 deadline.

Republican lawmakers have said that stimulus checks sent out in 2020 and 2021 likely contributed to decades-high inflation. Numbers released by the Department of Labor last week show that the consumer price index, a key inflation metric, reached 8.2 percent for September, nearing a 40-year high.