The Internal Revenue Service is sending out letters this week to more than 9 million potentially eligible families who didn't previously claim economic impact payments or tax credits.
The IRS said Thursday it will sending out the letters to millions of families who haven't claimed the Earning Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, the Recovery Rebate Credit or other benefits, and it will be leaving open its Free File program until Nov. 17 to enable families to file tax returns to claim those benefits, depending on their personal and family situation.
Over the next few weeks the reminder letters will be hitting the mailboxes of those who haven't yet filed a 2021 return to claim the benefits. The letter will be printed in both English and Spanish and offer a brief overview of each of the three tax credits.
"The IRS wants to remind potentially eligible people, especially families, that they may qualify for these valuable tax credits," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in a statement Thursday. "We encourage people who haven't filed a tax return yet for 2021 to review these options. Even if they aren't required to file a tax return, they may still qualify for several important credits. We don't want people to overlook these tax credits, and the letters will remind people of their potential eligibility and steps they can take."
The tax benefits are among those that were expanded under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and other recent legislation. The only way to claim the benefits is by filing a 2021 tax return, even if people have little or no income from a job, business or other source and don't normally file a tax return every year.
For this mailing, the Treasury' Department's Office of Tax Analysis identified individuals who don't typically have a tax return filing requirement because they appear to have very low incomes, based on Forms W-2, 1099s and other third-party statements available to the IRS.
The letters are similar to an earlier mailing the IRS sent in September 2020 encouraging 9 million potential non-filers to submit a tax return to claim the initial economic impact payment. They're part of an ongoing effort to spur people who aren't typically required to file to look into possible benefits available to them. Every year, people can overlook filing a tax return when they may be entitled to tax credits and a refund. They can also file a tax return even if they haven't yet received their letter.
