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On Friday, Rep. Grace Meng helped introduce legislation that would provide COVID-19economic impact payments to millions of immigrants and immigrant families that are currently ineligible to receive the funds because they do not file their taxes with a Social Security number.
By Michael V. Cusenza
Distribution of economic impact payments will begin in the next two weeks and will be allocated automatically, with no action required for most people; however, some taxpayers who typically do not file returns will need to submit a simple tax return to receive the COVID-19 stimulus check, the Internal Revenue Service recently announced.
The IRS is expected to make approximately 60 million payments to Americans through direct deposit in mid-April, according to the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee.
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, according to the IRS. 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.
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.
As mentioned, the IRS has noted that the vast majority of people do not need to take any action. The agency will calculate and automatically send the economic impact payment to those eligible.
For people who have already filed their 2019 tax returns, the IRS will use this information to calculate the payment amount. For those who have not yet filed their return for 2019, the IRS will use information from their 2018 tax filing to calculate the payment. The stimulus check will be deposited directly into the same banking account reflected on the return filed.
And on Friday, Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) helped introduce legislation that would provide COVID-19economic impact payments to millions of immigrants and immigrant families that are currently ineligible to receive the funds because they do not file their taxes with a Social Security number.
Under the Leave No Taxpayer Behind Act, filers with Individual Tax Identification Numbers would be eligible to receive the stimulus payments.
“Although the House Democrats’ Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act would have allowed payments to those with ITIN numbers, it was unfortunately not included in the Senate’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was the version that was ultimately passed and enacted into law,” Meng said.“Just like millions of American citizens, working immigrants, and mixed-status families, are falling on hard times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They too have bills to pay and loved ones to support. And many immigrants fortunate to still have a job are among the essential employees who are risking their health and safety by working on the frontlines during this outbreak. We must immediately right this wrong and help our hard-working immigrant communities receive this needed assistance.”
