IRS sending letters to those who are eligible for stimulus payments

As the second stimulus saga continues, be on the lookout for a letter from the IRS regarding when you will get your money. State-by-State Breakdown of People Getting a Letter is below.

The IRS will soon start mailing letters to roughly 9 million people who typically don’t file federal income tax returns who may be eligible for, but have not registered to claim, a stimulus check from the government. The letters will urge recipients to register online by October 15 in order to receive their payment before the end of the year. You can receive up to $1,200 ($2,400 for married couples), plus an extra $500 for each child under age 17 at the end of 2019.

The letters are being sent to people who haven’t filed a tax return for either 2018 or 2019. In many cases, that means people with incomes that aren’t high enough to trigger the tax return filing requirement. In other words, single people with income below $12,200 and married couples with income under $24,400. This includes people who are homeless. Nevertheless, many people in this income group are still eligible to receive a stimulus check.

The IRS letter is written in English and Spanish and includes information on eligibility criteria and how you can claim a payment on IRS.gov. The mailing will begin around September 24, and the letter will be delivered from an IRS address. To help address fraud concern, the IRS released a copy of the letter in advance (click here to see the letter).

If you don’t act by October 15, you can still get your money if you’re eligible for a check – but you’ll have to wait until next year and claim it as a tax credit on your 2020 income tax return.

How to Claim Your Payment

The best way to claim your stimulus check is to register by October 15 using the IRS’s Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool. You’ll be asked to provide your:

• Full name, current mailing address, phone number and email address;
• Date of birth;
• Marital status;
• Social Security number (and spouse’s number, if applicable);
• Bank account number, type and routing number if you want payment by direct deposit;
• Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN), if you have one; and
• Driver’s license or state-issued ID number, if you have one.

To get an extra $500 for a qualifying child who is 16 years old or younger, you will also need to provide his or her name, Social Security number or Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number, and his or her relationship to you or your spouse.

Anyone using the IRS tool can speed up the arrival of their payment by choosing to receive it by direct deposit. If you don’t choose this option, you will get a paper check in the mail. Also, two weeks after you register, you can track the status of your payment using the IRS’s Get My Payment tool.

If you’re unable or unwilling to use the online tool, you can submit a “simplified” paper return.

Eligibility for a Stimulus Check

Just because you receive a letter does not necessarily mean you’re going to get a stimulus check. You still have to be eligible for one. You’re likely eligible if you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, have a Social Security number, and can’t be claimed as dependent on someone else’s federal income tax return.

State-by-State Breakdown of People Getting a Letter

The IRS released the following state-by-state breakdown of the people who will be receiving a letter from the IRS urging them to register for a stimulus check.

State	State Postal Code	Total Number of Letters
Armed Forces Americas	AA	522
Armed Forces Non-Americas	AE	3,096
Alabama	AL	148,242
Armed Forces Pacific	AP	2,177
Alaska	AK	30,807
Arizona	AZ	239,037
Arkansas	AR	91,386
California	CA	1,186,896
Colorado	CO	177,502
Connecticut	CT	89,458
Delaware	DE	32,875
District of Columbia	DC	33,964
Florida	FL	567,425
Georgia	GA	348,631
Hawaii	HI	48,767
Iowa	IA	71,382
Idaho	ID	40,943
Illinois	IL	309,972
Indiana	IN	150,154
Kansas	KS	69,595
Kentucky	KY	117,136
Louisiana	LA	159,575
Maine	ME	32,346
Maryland	MD	192,153
Massachusetts	MA	187,768
Michigan	MI	270,590
Minnesota	MN	115,914
Mississippi	MS	86,669
Missouri	MO	159,077
Montana	MT	30,977
Nebraska	NE	38,201
Nevada	NV	94,472
New Hampshire	NH	29,680
New Jersey	NJ	216,145
New Mexico	NM	72,333
New York	NY	537,726
North Carolina	NC	245,623
North Dakota	ND	19,596
Ohio	OH	283,194
Oklahoma	OK	123,473
Oregon	OR	131,647
Pennsylvania	PA	276,066
Rhode Island	RI	24,686
South Carolina	SC	142,382
South Dakota	SD	19,391
Tennessee	TN	171,065
Texas	TX	796,525
Utah	UT	69,140
Vermont	VT	13,665
Virginia	VA	205,600
Washington	WA	203,978
West Virginia	WV	27,788
Wisconsin	WI	111,426
Wyoming	WY	14,506
Total		8,863,344