Washington, D.C. October 7, 2020 — Today, Rep. James E. Clyburn, Chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, applauded the Internal Revenue Service’s extension of the deadline for Americans who do not file taxes, called non-filers, to claim their Economic Impact Payments (EIPs), following a recommendation from the Select Subcommittee. The new deadline, November 21, 2020, will give approximately 9 million individuals an additional five weeks to claim their stimulus check.
“Congress intended to swiftly put stimulus checks in the pockets of struggling Americans, so I am pleased that IRS followed my recommendation to give nine million Americans more time to do so this year. I urge the IRS to ensure that these Americans, who are disproportionately low-income, are aware of the extension so they can access the federal relief they are eligible to receive,” said Chairman Clyburn.
The stimulus checks were part of the CARES Act and were intended by Congress to provide immediate relief to help alleviate the financial hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
On July 8, 2020, the Select Subcommittee launched an investigation into how Treasury and IRS distributed these stimulus checks and urged them to identify how many people were still waiting to receive their check and to conduct outreach to instruct them how to claim it.
On August 3, 2020, the Select Subcommittee pressed Treasury and IRS again to identify those who had not received their stimulus check, many of whom are low-income or homeless, and to speed up distribution.
On September 8, 2020, IRS announced that had identified approximately 9 million non-filers who had not yet received a stimulus check and planned to notify them by letter, starting September 24, that they had until October 15, 2020, to claim their check this year.
On September 11, 2020, Chairman Clyburn expressed concern that, “the Administration’s foot-dragging will limit the impact of this important step” and stated, “I urge Treasury and IRS to send these notices out quickly and to extend the deadline to apply online beyond October 15, 2020.” On September 25, 2020, Treasury staff informed Subcommittee staff that it agreed to speed up notices to non-filers, having started to mail them out on September 17 instead of September 24.
On October 2, 2020, Chairman Clyburn wrote to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, in Questions for the Record: “Will Treasury and IRS extend the October 15 deadline, as the Select Subcommittee has recommended, to ensure those who need financial assistance the most have an adequate opportunity to receive their stimulus payment this year?” On October 5, 2020, IRS announced it was extending the deadline for non-filers to apply until November 21, 2020, using an online tool.