By
Chimamanda U. Martha
December 12th, 2023
Erica York, a Tax Foundation economist, reported that most eligible Americans should automatically receive their stimulus checks and “plus-ups”.
The United States federal government has paid out 167 million stimulus checks each worth $1,400, bringing the total payments made to an estimated $391 billion. This third round was worth over $3.5 billion distributed in over 1.8 million checks.
The IRS recently processed tax returns, giving the cue for payment of the stimulus checks. Most of the checks come as “plus-up” payments for those who routinely file taxes. The rest were checks to citizens who did not pay taxes initially but began doing so in order to claim the stimulus payments.
Currently, over 900,000 “plus-up” checks collectively valued at over $1.6 billion have been issued, bringing the total payments to about 7 million. For those who got into the government tax records recently, over 900,000 checks collectively valued at around $1.9 billion have been sent.
The latest batch of direct payments was announced by the Treasury Department, the Bureau of Fiscal Service, and IRS, in line with the Congressional American Rescue Plan Act of March this year. The March legislation also consisted of an allotment of around $410 billion for the third roll of stimulus checks.
Additionally, the latest payments account for two weeks’ worth of stimulus checks compared to the initial one weeks’ pay. Over 900,000 checks have been directly deposited while the remainder has been delivered through paper checks.
The three rounds of stimulus had a total of approximately 472 million payments delivered which were valued at over $807 billion. This was last week’s testimony by IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to the Senate Finance Committee at Capitol Hill.
Further Notes on Third US Stimulus Checks
Erica York, a Tax Foundation economist, reported that most eligible Americans should automatically receive their stimulus checks and “plus-ups”. However, there are still outstanding payments yet to be made due to difficulties in reaching some citizens since they lack registered bank accounts or incomes. The IRS is placing efforts in reaching such populations, but it is not guaranteed that they will get 100% of them.
A recently issued IRS guidance explained that homeless people can still be eligible for stimulus checks along with the expanded child tax credit regardless of their ownership of a permanent address or bank account.
Of note is that people who did not file their tax returns in time may miss out on tax refunds. However, they can still file and claim their refunds without penalty for those qualifying for a refund. Penalties and interest may be accorded those with balances at the IRS.
Those missing stimulus checks can still claim them through tax filing by October 15. Citizens are warned against further delays as these may affect both federal and state refunds.
Other news from the personal finance section can be found here.