Dear Neighbor, 

I'd like to take a moment to update you on the status of the Economic Impact Payments that the IRS will soon begin delivering to hundreds of millions of Americans.

As you may know, the CARES Act provided funding for direct payments to Americans in response to the economic impact of COVID-19. Eligible taxpayers who filed tax returns for either 2019 or 2018 will automatically receive an economic impact payment of up to $1,200 for individuals or $2,400 for married couples and up to $500 for each qualifying child. 

Tax filers with adjusted gross income up to $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns will receive the full payment. For filers with income above those amounts, the payment amount is reduced by $5 for each $100 above the $75,000/$150,000 thresholds. Single filers with income exceeding $99,000 and $198,000 for joint filers with no children are not eligible. Social Security recipients and railroad retirees who are otherwise not required to file a tax return are also eligible and will not be required to file a return. For more information and FAQs, please click here. 

House Democrats fought hard for these payments, and I was proud to support the CARES Act in the House. Still, they are not expansive enough. I support legislation that would broaden this lifeline by providing payments to anyone with an eligible Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, and raising the age of eligible dependents.

As of today, the latest estimated timing from the IRS on economic impact checks is as follows:

The IRS will make about 60 million payments to Americans through direct deposit soon, likely next week. The IRS has direct depost information for these individuals from their 2018 or 2019 tax returns. This will include SSA beneficiaries who filed federal tax returns that included direct deposit information.

Shortly (hopefully within 10 days) after the first round of payments are made in mid-April, the IRS plans to make a second round of payments. These payments will be made to SS beneficiaries who did not file tax returns in 2018 or 2019 and receive their Social Security benefits via direct deposit. Treasury and the IRS announced on the evening of April 1st that these beneficiaries will not need to file a “simple tax return” to receive their rebate.  Recipients will receive their rebate just as they would their Social Security benefits. For more information on direct payments for SS beneficiaries, click here. 

About 3 weeks after the first round of payments are made, the IRS will begin issuing paper checks to individuals. The checks will be issued in reverse “adjusted gross income” order—starting with people with the lowest income first. They'll be issued at a rate of about 5 million per week, which could take up to 20 weeks to get all the checks out. I am working to tighten and accelerate that timeframe.

The IRS is encouraging taxpayers to file their 2019 returns to the maximum extent possible. As taxpayers file their 2019 returns electronically, the IRS will post updated tax information weekly to its files and then send this information to another agency that will issue weekly payments.

The IRS expects to create a portal by the end of April/early May that will allow taxpayers, once they have been authenticated, to: (1) find out the status of their rebate payment and (2) update direct deposit information. 

For other taxpayers who do not file returns, the IRS has said it expects to release the “simple tax return” soon. The IRS expects it will contain only a few questions, including name, SSNs, dependents, and deposit information. There also will be other IRS guidance accompanying this simple tax return.

Please take care of yourselves and each other, and remember that my office is here to help. Be sure to visit the COVID-19 page on my website for more information and resources. If you have any questions or concerns, or if you need assistance, please don't hesitate to call my office at (703) 508-2601. 

Sincerely,

Gerald E. Connolly
Member of Congress