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Economy

Thousands in the Quad Cities Are Missing Stimulus Checks

401kcalculator.org

Congress is debating a second emergency relief package, but some Americans still haven't received their first stimulus check. A group of non-profits has formed a coalition called Get My Payment Illinois, and it's working to fix that.  

Stimulus checks were mailed four months ago. But today, nearly 8,000 people in the Quad Cities haven't seen a cent. Tanner Edwards with the coalition says that estimate is based on the number of people who haven't filed taxes in the past two years. 

"If you are indeed a non-filer, your information is not handy for the IRS to be able to access immediately, and therefore send a direct-deposited stimulus payment to your account. (Non-filers) may not have received an automatic, direct deposit stimulus payment, and as such would need to take additional steps, some of which can present complexities in terms of the various hoops folks need to jump through to get the payments they deserve."

One of those hoops is using the non-filer portal on the IRS website. Only non-dependents who earn less than $12,200, or couples who make less than twice that are able to use it. Everyone else is required to file taxes to receive their payments. 

The deadline for registering is Oct. 15. Applicants can check their eligibility at the coalition's website, getmypaymentil.org.  

Marianna Bacallao is WVIK Quad Cities NPR's 2020-2021 Fellowship Host/Reporter. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Mercer University's Center for Collaborative Journalism and served as Editor-in-Chief for the student newspaper, The Cluster.
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