Veterans set to receive automatic coronavirus stimulus payments

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service are partnering with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to deliver economic impact payments automatically to veterans and their beneficiaries, without filling out extra forms, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The stimulus payments will automatically go to veterans and their beneficiaries who receive Compensation and Pension (C&P) benefit payments from the VA, even if they haven’t filed their taxes recently.

“Economic impact payments will be issued automatically to our veterans and their families who did not file tax returns for 2018 or 2019,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin (pictured) in a statement Friday. “The Treasury, IRS and VA are working hard to ensure our nation’s heroes receive these payments quickly and without any additional action or paperwork.”

Bloomberg News

Veterans and their beneficiaries who receive C&P benefit payments from the VA will get a $1,200 Economic Impact Payment with no further action needed on their part. The timing on the payments is still being determined.

The timing on the payments is still being determined. Moving VA recipients into the automatic payment category comes after weeks of ongoing cooperative work between the VA, Treasury and IRS, along with the Bureau of Fiscal Services.

“Since many VA recipients typically aren’t required to file tax returns, the IRS had to work with these other government agencies to determine a way to quickly and accurately deliver Economic Impact Payments to this group,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in a statement. “Additional programming work remains, but this step simplifies the process for VA recipients to quickly and easily receive these $1,200 payments automatically. We deeply appreciate the sacrifices and service to our country by each and every veteran and their families, as well as the assistance of VA and the Bureau of Fiscal Services in this effort.”

Earlier this week, the Treasury and the IRS also announced that stimulus payments would automatically go to Supplemental Security Income recipients (see our story). However, there have been some problems with the payments going to the right bank accounts, and many taxpayers have complained that they have had trouble finding out about the status of their payments (see our story).

Many non-tax filing beneficiaries have already started using the “Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info” tool to provide basic personal information to receive their economic impact payments. There will be no interruption to payments being processed using this online tool. The IRS and the Treasury are encouraging veterans who have internet access to continue providing information. For those who lack internet access, or opt not to use the “Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info” tool, their payment will be processed with no further action required from them. For more information on Economic Impact Payments, click here.