Millions of Low-Income Americans Are Still Eligible for COVID Stimulus Checks

10 million people are entitled to COVID stimulus checks, are you one of them? 

As the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the United States, the government took unprecedented measures to provide economic relief to American taxpayers. From Apr. 2020 to Dec. 2021, the federal government made $931 billion worth of COVID-19 stimulus payments to 165 million eligible Americans. However, there are 9 to 10 million eligible Americans who haven’t claimed their stimulus checks. If you think you may be one of them, here's what you need to know. 

Who is still eligible?

According to the IRS, there are several groups of people who experienced difficulties receiving payments. The IRS in 2020 only had data on taxpayers that had previously filed taxes. The Treasury Inspector General has identified potentially 10 million individuals still eligible for payments. These individuals include those that:

• had never filed a tax return
• were filing for the first time
• did not have bank accounts or lacked access to banks
• those with mixed immigrant status families
• those with limited or no internet access
• those experiencing homelessness

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), "Throughout the pandemic, IRS and Treasury struggled to get COVID-relief payments into the hands of some people -- especially those with lower incomes, limited internet access, or experiencing homelessness. Based on IRS and Treasury data, there could be between 9-10 million eligible individuals who have not yet received those payments."

How do you collect your stimulus check? 

Individuals and families can still file a tax return at ChildTaxCredit.gov or learn more at irs.gov/coronavirus/EIP to see if they are eligible for stimulus payments and the Child Tax Credit. However, the deadline is quickly approaching. Individuals with little or no income, and therefore not required to pay taxes, have until Nov. 15 to file their tax return. 

According to the Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve, the COVID stimulus checks and Child Tax Credit payments helped reduce financial hardship and food insufficiency among recipients. In total, approximately 10 million people are still entitled to receive a stimulus check. If you have not yet filed your taxes for 2020 or 2021, you may still be eligible to receive a stimulus payment. The IRS is encouraging anyone who has not yet filed their taxes to do so as soon as possible, as time is running out to claim the payments.