WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service announced today they have disbursed more than 2.2 million additional Economic Impact Payments under the American Rescue Plan.

Today's announcement covering the most recent six weeks of the effort brings the total disbursed so far under the American Rescue Plan to more than 171 million payments. They represent a total value of more than $400 billion since these payments began rolling out to Americans in batches on March 12.

Here is additional information on the last six weeks of payments, which includes those with official payment dates through July 21:

The IRS will continue to disburse Economic Impact Payments on a weekly basis. Ongoing payments will be sent to eligible individuals for whom the IRS previously did not have information to issue a payment but who recently filed a tax return, as well to people who qualify for "plus-up" payments.

Special reminder for those who don't normally file a tax return

Although payments are automatic for most people, the IRS continues to urge people who don't normally file a tax return and haven't received Economic Impact Payments to file a 2020 tax return to get all the benefits they're entitled to under the law, including tax credits such as the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the Earned Income Tax Credit. Filing a 2020 tax return will also assist the IRS in determining whether someone is eligible for monthly advance payments of the 2021 Child Tax Credit, which began earlier this month.

For example, some federal benefits recipients may need to file a 2020 tax return – even if they don't usually file – to provide information the IRS needs to send payments for a qualifying dependent. Eligible individuals in this group should file a 2020 tax return as quickly as possible to be considered for an additional payment for their qualifying dependents.

People who don't normally have an obligation to file a tax return and don't receive federal benefits may qualify for these Economic Impact Payments. This includes those experiencing homelessness, the rural poor, and other historically under-served groups. Individuals who didn't get a first or second round Economic Impact Payment or got less than the full amounts may be eligible for the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit, but they'll need to file a 2020 tax return. See the special section on IRS.gov: Claiming the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit if you aren't required to file a tax return.

The IRS has provided an online Non-Filer tool to allow individuals who weren’t required to file (and have not filed) a tax return for 2020 to file a simplified tax return. This simplified tax return allows eligible individuals to register for advance Child Tax Credit payments and the third Economic Impact Payment, as well as claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit. Free tax return preparation is also available for qualifying people.

The IRS reminds taxpayers that the income levels in this third round of Economic Impact Payments have changed. This means that some people won't be eligible for the third payment even if they received a first or second Economic Impact Payment or claimed a 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit. Payments will begin to be reduced for individuals making $75,000 or above in Adjusted Gross Income ($150,000 for married filing jointly). The payments end at $80,000 for individuals ($160,000 for married filing jointly); people with Adjusted Gross Incomes above these levels are ineligible for a payment.

Individuals can check the Get My Payment tool on IRS.gov to see the payment status of these payments. Additional information on Economic Impact Payments is available on IRS.gov.

Please note this version of the news release includes a list of this weekend’s locations, which are also listed on IRS.gov: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/advance-child-tax-credit-free-tax-prep-days 

Friday, Saturday events in several cities support eligible families

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and partners in non-profit organizations, churches, community groups and others will host additional events in several cities this weekend to help eligible families register for the monthly Advance Child Tax Credit (AdvCTC) payments.

The special events on July 23-24, 2021, will be hosted by IRS and partner groups to help people file income tax returns and register for the advance payments. Events will be held in Birmingham, Alabama; Bronx, New York; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Memphis, Tennessee; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Newark, New Jersey; New Haven, Connecticut; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Paterson, New Jersey; Riverside, California; Seattle, Washington; and Tampa, Florida.

With the help of a new Non-filer Sign-up Tool on the IRS website, volunteers and IRS employees will assist eligible individuals and families get these important tax credits and benefits. This tool, an update of last year’s IRS Non-Filers tool, is also designed to help individuals register for the $1,400 third round of Economic Impact Payments (also known as stimulus checks) and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit for any amount of the first two rounds of Economic Impact Payments they may have missed. Individuals do not need to have children to attend these events and sign up for Economic Impact Payments.

This is part of a larger effort underway at the IRS to reach people eligible for the payments and other credits. The IRS also continues working with partner groups across the country, both inside and outside of the tax community, to share information and raise awareness. These activities and events are in addition to this special weekend of activities.

This is part of a wider effort to raise awareness of the expanded Child Tax Credit. The IRS also encourages its partners to use available online tools and toolkits to help non-filers, low-income families and other underserved groups sign up to receive the AdvCTC. People can check their eligibility for the advance payments by using the new Advance Child Tax Credit Eligibility Assistant.

For this weekend’s events, people are encouraged to have the following information when they come to one of these events: (1) Social Security numbers for their children, (2) Social Security numbers or Tax Identification Numbers for themselves and their spouse, (3) a reliable mailing address, (4) an e-mail address, and (5) their bank account information if they want to receive their payment by direct deposit.

Some tax credits, such as the Child Tax Credit (CTC), are "refundable," meaning that even if taxpayers don’t owe income tax, the IRS will issue them a refund if they’re eligible; but they must file a tax return or register with the new Non-filer Sign-up Tool to receive it. Some people who haven’t filed a 2020 tax return yet are also eligible for the $1,400 per person Economic Impact Payments and the Recovery Rebate Credit.

The first monthly payments of the expanded and newly-advanceable CTC from the American Rescue Plan were made on July 15, and will be sent monthly through Dec 15. Most families began receiving monthly payments without any additional action. Eligible families will receive a payment of up to $300 per month for each child under age 6, and up to $250 per month for each child ages 6 to 17.

People who need to file a 2020 federal income tax return, but are unable to attend one of these events, may be able to prepare and file their own federal income tax online using IRS Free File if their income is $72,000 or less.

People who don’t need to file a 2020 federal tax return can also use the Non-filer Sign-up Tool to register to receive the advance CTC payments, the third round of the Economic Impact Payment and the Recovery Rebate Credit.

The IRS encourages people to request payments via direct deposit, which is faster and more secure than other payment methods. People who don't have a bank account should visit the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation website for details on opening an account online. They can also use the FDIC's BankFind tool to locate an FDIC-insured bank.

Finally, BankOn, American Bankers Association, Independent Community Bankers of America and National Credit Union Administration have lists of banks and credit unions that can open an account online. Veterans can see the Veterans Benefits Banking Program for financial services at participating banks.

About the advance Child Tax Credit
The expanded and newly-advanceable Child Tax Credit was authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act, enacted in March. Normally, the IRS will calculate the payment based on a family’s 2020 tax return, including those who use the Non-filer Sign-up Tool. If that return is not available because it has not yet been filed or is still being processed, the IRS will instead determine the initial payment amounts using the 2019 return or the information entered using the Non-filers tool that was available in 2020.

To make sure families have easy access to their money, the IRS is issuing these payments by direct deposit, as long as correct banking information has previously been provided to the IRS. Otherwise, people should watch their mail for their mailed payment.

To learn more about advance CTC payments, visit IRS.gov/childtaxcredit2021 or see FAQs on the 2021 Child Tax Credit and Advance Child Tax Credit Payments.

WASHINGTON – With security incidents on the rise, the Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies and the tax industry urged tax professionals and taxpayers to use a special feature – multi-factor authentication – available on tax software products to help protect against identity and data theft.

The Security Summit partners today kicked off the annual 2021 “Protect Your Clients; Protect Yourself” summer campaign aimed at tax professionals. This year’s theme is “Boost Security Immunity: Fighting Against Identity Theft” to urge tax professionals to step up their efforts to protect client data amid the pandemic and its aftermath.

Multi-factor authentication, also known as two-factor authentication, provides more security. It allows the tax professional or taxpayer to use another feature such as a security code sent to a mobile device, a pin number or a fingerprint in addition to the username and password. A thief may steal usernames and passwords but cannot access accounts without the additional multifactor feature.

“The Security Summit has made great strides to protect the tax community, but we need the help of everyone in the tax professional community,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “Using the multi-factor authentication feature available on tax preparation products is one of the easiest and cheapest security measures any tax pro can take. It’s offered for free by the tax software providers. As people continue to get vaccines, we urge tax professionals as well as taxpayers to boost their security immunity and help in the battle against identity theft.”

This marks the sixth year of the tax professional campaign, part of a wider effort by the Security Summit coalition of the IRS, state tax agencies and the nation’s tax community to strengthen protections against identity and data theft threatening the tax system. This is the first in a series of weekly news releases running through Aug. 17.

Through June 30, 2021, there have been 222 data theft reports this year from tax professionals to the IRS, outpacing the rate of 211 in 2020 and 124 in 2019. Each individual report may involve hundreds to thousands of taxpayers. Client information stolen from tax professionals’ offices is used to create fraudulent tax returns that are difficult to detect because the identity thief is using real financial data.

Based on reports to the IRS in 2020, many tax professionals whose client data was stolen failed to use multifactor authentication, and the feature could have prevented some of the thefts. Tax professionals also should use multi-factor authentication features anywhere it is offered, such as commercial email products and cloud storage providers.

Multi-factor authentication is just one of several security steps tax professionals – and taxpayers – should use to protect sensitive data. Other steps include:

The IRS also reminds tax professionals that federal law, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, requires all professional tax preparers to create and implement a data security plan. The IRS also recommends tax professionals create a data theft response plan, which includes contacting the IRS Stakeholder Liaisons to report a theft.

Additional resources
Tax professionals also can get help with security recommendations by reviewing IRS Publication 4557, Safeguarding Taxpayer Data, and Small Business Information Security: The Fundamentals by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The IRS Identity Theft Central pages for tax pros, individuals and businesses have important details as well.

Publication 5293, Data Security Resource Guide for Tax Professionals, provides a compilation of data theft information available on IRS.gov. Also, tax professionals should stay connected to the IRS through subscriptions to e-News for Tax Professionals and Social Media.

For more information, see Boost Security Immunity: Fighting Against Identity Theft

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today launched a new feature that will give taxpayers digital control over who can represent them or view their tax records, a groundbreaking step in the agency’s expansion of electronic options for taxpayers and tax professionals. 

The new feature, one of many recent enhancements to the Online Account for individuals, will allow individual taxpayers to authorize their tax practitioner to represent them before the IRS with a Power of Attorney (POA) and to view their tax accounts with a Tax Information Authorizations (TIA). 

“The ability for taxpayers to connect online with their tax professional is a groundbreaking step for the IRS,” said Chuck Rettig, IRS Commissioner. “This is the first, basic step toward a more fully integrated digital tax system that will benefit taxpayers, tax professionals and the IRS.” 

As of today, tax professionals may go to the new Tax Pro Account on IRS.gov to digitally initiate POAs and TIAs. These digital authorization requests are simpler versions of Forms 2848 and 8821.

Once completed and submitted by the tax professional, the authorization requests will appear in the taxpayers’ Online Account for their review, approval or rejection and electronic signature. Because the taxpayers’ identities already are verified at the time of login, they simply check a box as their signature and submit the authorization request to the IRS. 

A key benefit is the completed digital authorization, if accurate, will go directly to the Centralized Authorization File (CAF) database and will not require manual processing. Most requests will be immediately recorded and appear on the list of approved authorizations in the taxpayer’s Online Account and the tax professional’s Tax Pro Account. Some authorizations may take up to 48 hours. Tax professionals may then go to e-Services Transcript Delivery Service to see the taxpayer’s records. 

This new digital authorization option will be a much faster process. It will allow the IRS to reduce its current CAF inventory and to focus on authorization requests received through fax, mail or the Submit Forms 2848 and 8821 Online – all of which require IRS personnel to handle. 

To connect with their tax professionals, taxpayers either login to their Online Account using their IRS username and password or they must create an account after passing a one-time identity verification process. Taxpayers who cannot validate their identities cannot use this option, and their tax professional must use the fax, mail or online submission process. However, the IRS will be announcing a new process for this application later this year.   
Tax professionals should use their IRS usernames and passwords to access the Tax Pro Account or create an account after verifying their identities. 

This initial launch of the Tax Pro Account represents the first release of the tool. Over time, additional functionality will be added for taxpayers and tax professionals that will increase the options for electronic interactions. 

Currently, the digital authorization process is available only to individual taxpayers, not businesses or other entities. Also, tax professionals must be in good standing with the IRS and already have a CAF number prior to making requests through Tax Pro Account. To initiate the authorizations, tax professionals must enter their personal information and their clients’ personal information exactly as it appears on IRS tax records. Also, the feature is available only to those with addresses in the United States. Tax Pro Account is a separate tool from e-Services. 

To help tax professionals educate their clients about this new process, the IRS has created two e-Posters that practitioners may share. These are:

There are additional features available to individual taxpayers from their Online Account. Taxpayers can view:

Taxpayers can also:

Today, the IRS published the latest executive column “A Closer Look,” which features De Lon Harris, Commissioner, Small Business/Self Employed Examination, discussing a high-priority Taxpayer Digital Communications (TDC) initiative to enhance communications with taxpayers through digital channels. “Our Taxpayer Digital Communication initiatives include secure messaging, a text chat function and outbound notifications that have greatly enabled us to support taxpayers during these often challenging times. I’d like to give you a closer look at these exciting changes that have already helped many people,” said Harris. Read more here. Read the Spanish version here.

“A Closer Look” is a column from IRS executives that covers a variety of timely issues of interest to taxpayers and the tax community. It also provides a detailed look at key issues affecting everything from IRS operations and employees to issues involving taxpayers and tax professionals.

Check here for prior posts and new updates.

Revenue Procedure 2021-30 adds two new benefit overpayment correction methods that encourage employers to avoid seeking recoupment of benefit overpayments made to participants and beneficiaries, either by not requiring correction if the plan satisfies a specified funding level, or by limiting the amount to be recouped under certain circumstances.  In addition, the revenue procedure eliminates the VCP anonymous submission procedure and adds an anonymous, no-fee, VCP pre-submission conference procedure.  The revenue procedure also expands correction by plan amendment under SCP, extends the end of the SCP correction period for significant failures by one year, and extends the sunset of the safe harbor correction method for certain missed elective deferrals by three years.

Revenue Procedure 2021-30 will be in:  2021-31, dated 08/02/2021.

Notice 2021-44 sets forth updates on the corporate bond monthly yield curve, the corresponding spot segment rates for July 2021 used under § 417(e)(3)(D), the 24-month average segment rates applicable for July 2021, and the 30-year Treasury rates, as reflected by the application of § 430(h)(2)(C)(iv). 

Notice 2021-44 will be in IRB: 2021-31, dated August 2, 2021.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department announced today that millions of American families have started receiving monthly Child Tax Credit payments as direct deposits begin posting in bank accounts and checks arrive in mailboxes.

This first batch of advance monthly payments worth roughly $15 billion reached about 35 million families today across the country. About 86% were sent by direct deposit.

The payments will continue each month. The IRS urged people who normally aren’t required to file a tax return to explore the tools available on IRS.gov. These tools can help determine eligibility for the advance Child Tax Credit or help people file a simplified tax return to sign up for these payments as well as Economic Impact Payments, and other credits you may be eligible to receive.

Under the American Rescue Plan, each payment is up to $300 per month for each child under age 6 and up to $250 per month for each child ages 6 through 17. Normally, anyone who receives a payment this month will also receive a payment each month for the rest of 2021 unless they unenroll.  Besides the July 15 payment, payment dates are: Aug. 13, Sept. 15, Oct. 15, Nov. 15 and Dec. 15.
 
Here are further details on these payments:

Additional information is available on a special Advance Child Tax Credit 2021 page, designed to provide the most up-to-date information about the credit and the advance payments. It’s at IRS.gov/childtaxcredit2021.

Revenue Ruling 2021-14 provides various prescribed rates for federal income tax purposes including the applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted federal long-term rate, and the adjusted federal long-term tax-exempt rate. These rates are determined as prescribed by § 1274. 

Revenue Ruling 2021-14 will be in IRB:  2021-31, dated August 2, 2021.

WASHINGTON – Continuing an effort to battle tax-related identity theft, the IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry announced today that the annual campaign to raise awareness among tax professionals about data security will begin next week.

The 2021 campaign begins as the number of data thefts reported by tax professionals to the IRS continued to climb. Through June 30, 2021, there have been 222 data theft reports this year from tax professionals to the IRS, outpacing the rate of 211 in 2020 and 124 in 2019. Each report can impact hundreds of taxpayers and threaten the tax professional’s business.

“Boost Security Immunity: Fighting Against Identity Theft” will urge tax professionals to take basic actions to stem the data theft from their offices. This is the sixth year that the Security Summit partners – the IRS, state tax agencies and the nation’s tax community – have worked to raise awareness about these issues.

“The Security Summit continues to work cooperatively to battle tax-related identity theft, but we need the help of tax professionals in this effort,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “We continue to see instances where tax professionals did not take simple steps that could have protected their clients and their business. Tax professionals must take a shot at basic security steps to protect against relentless efforts by identity thieves to steal data and tax information.”

Identity thieves and fraudsters were especially active last year and this year as they used the COVID-19 pandemic, the nationwide teleworking practices and the economic downturn as fuel for a variety of scams and schemes to steal money and identities.

Tax professionals are key targets of criminal syndicates that are tech-savvy, tax-savvy and well-funded. These scammers either trick or hack their way into tax professionals’ computer systems to access client data. They use stolen data to file fraudulent tax returns that make it more difficult for the IRS and the states to detect because the fraudulent returns use real financial information.

The Security Summit formed in 2015 to take its own shot at fighting against identity theft. The Summit partners made great inroads against tax-related identity theft, dramatically reducing confirmed identity theft returns and saving billions in tax dollars.

During the next five weeks, the Security Summit partners will highlight a series of simple actions that tax professionals can take to better protect client data from theft and help ensure that the progress in tax-related identity theft that started in 2015 continues on its path.

Highlighted recommendations will be to:

More information on these tips will be available every Tuesday over the next five weeks.

This summer series also coincides with the annual IRS Nationwide Tax Forums, which are being held virtually this summer over a five-week period beginning July 20. The 2021 Forums feature three webinars focused on cyber- and information security that will be live streamed as follows:

For more information about the IRS Nationwide Tax Forums and to register visit www.IRSTaxForum.com.