Sinema previously wrote federal agencies pushing back against the arbitrary deadline set for Arizona seniors to receive direct payment checks for their children
PHOENIX – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema and bipartisan group of Senators urged the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to explore options for allowing non-filing Arizona Social Security beneficiaries with children who missed the arbitrary April 22 deadline to still receive the additional $500 per qualified dependent this year. Sinema also asked that consideration be given to other federal beneficiaries who may be affected by a future deadline, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients and veterans receiving disability compensation and other benefits from Veterans Affairs (VA).
“The federal government must remove all unnecessary barriers blocking Arizona seniors from getting direct payments they are counting on. I’ll continue working across the aisle to fix this problem and ensure Arizonans get the support needed during this public health crisis,” said Sinema.
Read Sinema’s full letter HERE.
The IRS announced late on April 20, 2020 that some recipients had a short window to register their dependent children online using the IRS’ web tool to receive their two payments together this year. If they miss this window, the individual may not receive their $500 dependent payment for their children until 2021 when they file their 2020 taxes. The IRS recently announced a new May 5, 2020 deadline for recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and veterans receiving compensation and pension (C&P) payments, who do not typically file federal taxes, but do have qualifying dependent children.
The IRS initially sent guidance that low-income beneficiaries of Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, and VA C&P beneficiaries did not have to file taxes or take additional action to receive their $1,200 stimulus payments. Many households will fall behind as the IRS’ new guidance only gives recipients a short window to take action when they were initially told no additional action was necessary. Sinema objected to this rule and asked the IRS and Treasury Department not to delay everyone’s payments, but rather allow these households to get payments for their dependents on a rolling basis or to set a more reasonable deadline. By doing so, the IRS would give veterans service organizations, senior groups, and others the time to conduct a much more robust public awareness campaign.
Sinema recently pressed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to ensure veterans and Arizonans with disabilities getting Supplemental Security Income (SSI) receive rebate checks without having to file 2019 tax returns if their income falls below the federal threshold for filing.
On April 1, 2020, Sinema urged the IRS to follow the CARES Act law, after the agency released guidance contradicting provisions of the CARES Act that states Social Security beneficiaries do not have to file taxes to receive their assistance. After calls from Sinema, the IRS issued new guidance that seniors and individuals with disabilities who receive Social Security benefits will get their rebate checks without filing a tax return.
Sinema has also added a resources page to her website, www.sinema.senate.gov/corona, for Arizonans looking for the latest information on coronavirus.