Over 3 Million Recipients Have yet to Claim Their Stimulus Checks in These States

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Sep 18, 2020 11:16 PM EDT

More than three million peple who may be eligible for a stimulus check, but have yet to claim one, are concentrated in the states of California, Florida, Texas, and New York.

Months after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) started handing out the relief payments allotted under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, nine million people have not received the payment.

To ensure that everyone eligible for a stimulus check receives one, the IRS will send out letters to these people. The agency also shared a state-by-state breakdown to help local officials engage in the communities.

The state with the highest number of potentially unclaimed stimulus checks is California, with 1,186,896 people on the IRS' list.

Texas ranked second with 796,525 eligible recipients, followed by Florida and New York with eligible recipients of 567,425 and 537,726, respectively. It totals to 3,088,572 out of over nine million unclaimed payments.

"The IRS continues to work hard to reach people eligible for these payments... Time is running out to claim a payment before the deadline," IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a report.

According to IRS, people receiving the letter are typically not required to file federal income tax returns, most likely because they have very low incomes.

But the IRS noted that this does not disqualify eligible recipients from a payment. The agency urged them to use the Non-Filer tool to register for a payment before the Oct. 15 deadline.

The tool is created for people with incomes below $12,200 or married couples filing jointly with incomes below $24,400.

The IRS said receiving a letter does not guarantee a person is eligible for a payment. To qualify, it noted that the person must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien, have a work-eligible Social Security Number, and cannot be claimed as someone else's dependent.

Under the CARES Act, qualified recipients with incomes below $75,000 received a $1,200 payment. This with $2,400 allocated for joint filers with incomes of $150,000 or less.

People with children under 17 could receive a $500 payment for each child. The same payments are allotted for people using the Non-Filers tool.

Meanwhile, talks for the second round of stimulus check remain undiscussed as Congress members left Washington for the weekend no closer to reaching an agreement.

This, despite President Donald Trump's push for lawmakers to craft a coronavirus aid package that would include a second round of stimulus checks. The President said he supported a stimulus framework with a larger amount.

"Some of the Republicans disagree but I think I can convince them to go along with that, I like the larger number. I want to see people get money, it wasn't their fault that this happened," Trump said in a report.

Trump noted that he would talk to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the right time.

He explained why he did not meet with Pelosi in the past few weeks to discuss the inclusion of stimulus checks. He said they know exactly where he stands.

"At the right time, I'll do right, but they know exactly where I stand," Trump noted.