Millions of Americans and their families are at risk of not receiving their stimulus checks because they have no idea how to get them. In Pennsylvania, more than $337 million in uncollected stimulus checks are at risk of disappearing from citizens' reach.
Stimulus checks on hold
The United States government considers an estimate of about 360,000 citizens in Pennsylvania as non-filers, meaning they would not be getting their direct payments given as support amid the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Business Wire, the affected individuals would have to file a tax return or complete an online form on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website before October 15 to receive their stimulus payments for this year.
Non-profit organization Campaign for Working Families (CWF) is lending a hand to all PA residents in completing their pending tax returns with no service charge just to help them get their direct payments.
If the massive amount of at-risk funds get delivered and spent by those who need it, it would result in reducing the difficulties most families are facing and could also give the economy a much-needed boost with the added spending.
Director of Partnerships for CWF Graham O'Neill said they know plenty of people from Pennsylvania who are hardly getting by every day and noted that uncollected payments could go a long way to helping them stand on their own again.
O'Neill added the organization is ready and willing to help those who are confused with the qualifications of receiving stimulus checks and the process of how to get them.
The non-profit organization is assisting people in understanding the eligibility of the direct payments through two methods; virtual and in-person tax prep programs certified by the IRS, which can be accessed via their website.
Distribution of direct payments
The United States government passed the CARES Act that included the first stimulus checks that supported Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.
The first direct payments worth $1,200 were available to be received by individuals who had no source of income or those earning less than $75,000 (or $150,000 if married and filed taxes jointly) every year, as reported by Yahoo Finance.
Individuals who had higher salaries received less amount than those who earned less. Dependents who were 17 years old or below who had a social security number or an adoption taxpayer identification number were eligible to receive an additional $500 benefit.
For someone to get the payment, an individual must have a social security number and must not be counted as a dependent on someone else's tax return. Military couples who are legally married only needed one social security number to receive their stimulus payments.
The IRS automatically distributed stimulus checks to Americans who filed their taxes for 2018 and 2019, receive social security insurance or those who are retirees or Veterans Affairs (VA) beneficiaries.
In the first month of deliveries, the IRS distributed more than five million payments that totaled $8.8 billion in stimulus payments in the state of Pennsylvania alone.
