Stimulus Update: IRS to Send Letters to 9 Million People About Unclaimed Stimulus Money. Here's How to Get Your Payments

The IRS is sending out alerts to people who are missing their stimulus payment.

COVID-19 stimulus money served as a lifeline for Americans during the heart of the pandemic. But not everyone received all of the payments that were due.

The IRS is now ramping up its outreach efforts to reach the millions of people who didn't get their funds deposited into their bank accounts. Those who are missing payments still have time to act, but there is a November deadline that is fast approaching.

IRS letters are coming in the mail to these individuals

In early October of this year, the IRS initiated the process of sending letters to people who they believe missed out on COVID-19 payments they were owed.

IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig indicated that the purpose was to help ensure people didn't leave money on the table. "The IRS wants to remind potentially eligible people, especially families, that they may qualify for these valuable tax credits," he said in a statement.

In the letters that are going out, the IRS also clarified some key issues to people who may have been afraid to claim their stimulus money. The agency specified that claiming the stimulus money wouldn't affect means-tested federal benefits such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; Supplemental Security Income (SSI); the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

The agency also reiterated that the ability to apply for a green card would not be impacted by claiming stimulus money, nor would requesting the tax credits have any impact on any type of immigration benefits or future immigration status.

The letter, and the clarifying information it includes, is meant to reach lower-income individuals and others who do not routinely file tax returns who may not have received either the $1,400 checks authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act or the expanded Child Tax Credit that this act made available.

How to claim unclaimed stimulus funds

If you receive an IRS letter, or if you otherwise suspect you are missing stimulus money, you should act quickly to try to get your funds. That's because some key deadlines are approaching. Specifically:

• You can use IRS Free File to file a tax return through Nov. 17, 2022. This service is available if you make less than $73,000 and it will enable you to gain access to any of the unclaimed stimulus money sent last year.
• GetCTC.org is available through Nov. 15, 2022 and it provides a simplified tool to obtain the $1,400 stimulus check, the expanded Child Tax Credit, and the expanded earned income tax credit. You will not have to file a full tax return to get your money if you use this tool.

Take advantage of these resources while you can so you can get your piece of the government assistance that was so vital to so many during the global pandemic.