Letter to Charles P. Rettig, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service - Congressman Cleaver Calls For IRS To Extend Economic Impact Payment Filing Deadline For Americans With Dependents
Letter
We write to request the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) extend its deadlines to allow families with dependents to receive the full amount of their Economic Impact Payments. It is imperative that these families have the complete payments that the CARES Act intended to help alleviate some of the financial burdens this unprecedented crisis has born on their lives.
According to recent reporting, approximately one million children may be deprived of the $500 payment that was intended to assist families in the CARES Act if they fail to complete an online form by noon yesterday, April 22, 2020. Just three days ago the IRS sent out a "special alert" notifying the public of this impending deadline, which we are confident too many households have not been able to meet. This notice required Social Security recipients and retirees caring for children to complete an online form, under a seemingly unreasonable deadline and with varying degrees of technical difficulties, which may well be a hardship for families during this
pandemic. Many of these families have not historically been required to complete a tax filing. If they missed this deadline they will be forced to wait until next year to receive this payment. With the administrative delays associated with processing ordinary payments, this will be a harsh penalty for these citizens. The average cost of raising a child in this country is $245,000, making the existing $500 payment a mere drop in the bucket. If we fail to get this lifeline to these children, we will be depriving them of the food and sustenance they need to make it through this crisis.
This cohort of constituents disproportionately represent those most vulnerable to the coronavirus and, consistent with available guidance and best practices, every effort should be made to assist these families. We urge IRS to extend these deadlines to better support these families in these perilous times as our country works to slow the spread of this deadly virus.
Thank you for your attention to this important issue.
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