Recipients of government benefits like Social Security, disability or SSI are entitled to receive the $1,200 stimulus check from the IRS. If you receive these federal benefits, you will receive your $1,200 automatically without taking additional steps.

You can also receive an additional $500 stimulus check per child by acting quickly. If you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Veterans Administration benefits, use the Non-Filers payment information tool to add $500 per child to your automatic payments. But you must submit your information before May 5.

If you receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits (SSDI) or Railroad Retirement benefits, the deadline to add $500 per child to your stimulus check was April 22.

Your payment at this time will be $1,200 and, by law, the additional $500 per eligible child amount would be paid in association with a return filing for tax year 2020.

Non-filers who submitted their information to the IRS by April 22 were promised a quicker processing time of the stimulus money.

For more information, visit the IRS’s special alert for benefit recipients who don’t file a tax return and have dependents.

You should use the Non-Filers payment tool if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident,
• Had gross income that did not exceed $12,200 ($24,400 for married couples) for 2019, and
• Did not file a return for 2018 or 2019 and were not otherwise required to file a federal income tax return for 2019.

What happens next

After the payment is sent, you should receive a letter from the IRS that includes information on how the payment was made and how to report any failure to receive the payment. If you are unsure that you are receiving a legitimate letter, the IRS urges you to visit IRS.gov first to protect against scam artists.

We wrote a blog post about how to receive the stimulus money if you haven’t filed taxes in the previous years. Remember, you now have until July 15, 2020 to file your 2019 federal tax return. If you overpaid or are eligible for a tax credit, like EITC, you can claim a refund.

If you need help filing your 2019 taxes or would like to file on your own, The Campaign for Working Families is offering online tools to simplify the process. Visit their website to use the virtual tax preparation portal, and free self tax-preparation software. The Campaign for Working Families is a Philly-based non-profit group helping to make tax prep easier for our residents.

Photos by Joe O’Connor