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In a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today, U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-08) urged Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to ensure seniors who rely on Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits receive the full value of the economic impact payments owed to them under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act as quickly as possible.

On Monday, April 20, the IRS issued a "special alert" explaining that Social Security and Railroad Retirement recipients, who are not required to file tax returns, had until 12:00 p.m. eastern time on Wednesday, April 22 — less than 48 hours — to complete the online IRS non-filer tool and claim their eligible dependents, in order to make sure they receive their additional $500 per eligible child along with their automatic stimulus payment of $1,200.

If they failed to meet the deadline, those seniors would receive the $500 stimulus payment only after they file a tax return for 2020 — which is not available until 2021. One recent estimate shows that about one million children would lose out on the $500 payment their parents or guardians were supposed to receive this year under the CARES Act.

“While I appreciate the need to deliver swift relief to the many Americans financially impacted by the coronavirus, I am nevertheless concerned about the decision to give Social Security and Railroad Retirement recipients less than two days’ notice of a deadline to register any dependents using the IRS non-filer tool,” Cartwright writes in the letter. “Many of these individuals may not know that they qualify for a larger payment, or may be unaware of the deadline, or may lack access to the technology needed to access the IRS non-filer tool in a timely manner. Consequently, it’s likely that many will have missed yesterday’s deadline and will have to file a 2020 tax return in order to receive the benefit they are owed.”

This abrupt deadline stands to affect the older Americans who serve as the primary guardians to their grandchildren or had children later in life.

Cartwright’s letter to Treasury and the IRS is below and here.

Dear Secretary Mnuchin and Commissioner Rettig:

I write to urge you to ensure that vulnerable Americans, including older adults and individuals with disabilities, receive the $500 stimulus payments for dependent children guaranteed by the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act as quickly as possible and without having to file a 2020 tax return.

On Monday, April 20, the U.S. Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service announced that Social Security and Railroad Retirement recipients who have qualifying dependents and did not file a 2018 or 2019 tax return would need to provide information via the IRS non-filer tool by noon yesterday in order to automatically receive the $500 per eligible child. For those federal benefit recipients unable to meet this deadline, the $500 payment per eligible child will be delayed until they file a 2020 tax return.

While I appreciate the need to deliver swift relief to the many Americans financially impacted by the coronavirus, I am nevertheless concerned about the decision to give Social Security and Railroad Retirement recipients less than two days’ notice of a deadline to register any dependents using the IRS non-filer tool. Many of these individuals may not know that they qualify for a larger payment, or may be unaware of the deadline, or may lack access to the technology needed to access the IRS non-filer tool in a timely manner. Consequently, it’s likely that many will have missed yesterday’s deadline and will have to file a 2020 tax return in order to receive the benefit they are owed.

Making any portion of the Economic Impact Payment contingent on the filing of a 2020 tax return is problematic for a couple of reasons. First, older Americans and individuals with disabilities are already uniquely vulnerable to the health and economic consequences of COVID-19, and any delay in economic assistance would likely only exacerbate their circumstances. Many of these individuals are depending on immediate receipt of their full Economic Impact Payment, in order to provide for their families. Second, requiring these individuals, who don’t normally have a return filing obligation, to file a 2020 return poses an unnecessary burden and runs counter to Congressional intent. When providing stimulus payments to Americans dealing with the economic effects of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, a similar arbitrary requirement to file a tax return in 2008 resulted in 3.5 million Social Security recipients and veterans never receiving the stimulus payment they were owed. With this recent lesson of history borne prominently in mind, Congress drafted the CARES Act so that federal benefit recipients could receive stimulus checks without being required to file a tax return.

For these reasons, I strongly urge you to ensure that Social Security and Railroad Retirement beneficiaries with dependent children receive the $500 per eligible child benefit without having to file a 2020 tax return and I urge you to ensure these individuals receive the benefit as quickly as possible given the urgent need among these vulnerable populations.