President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan stimulus package passed in early March, a stimulus package meant to distribute $1,400 checks to most Americans. There are many Americans, however, who have had delays on their checks.

Among those who have seen such a delay are veterans who receive benefits from Veterans Affairs but do not typically file a tax return.

“The IRS continues to review data received from Veterans Affairs (VA), which covers veterans and their beneficiaries who receive Compensation and Pension (C&P) benefit payments who don’t normally file a tax return,” the IRS said last week.

The official payment date for those payments will be April 14, the IRS said. However, the information about those checks should have been available to recipients on the Get My Payment app this past weekend.

According to the IRS, the Department of Treasury and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the current disbursement is the fourth batch of what the government calls Economic Impact Payments, as part of the Rescue Plan. They are not to be confused with the payments from the two stimulus packages that were passed in 2020.

Those who haven’t yet received their stimulus check can check the IRS’s Get My Payment tool.

Meanwhile, there have been various warnings about scammers going after stimulus checks, with various tactics that include phone calls seeking information, as well as fake checks.

Some lawmakers are pushing for an additional round of stimulus checks, which would be the fourth since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. However, it appears unlikely that such a bill will be passed, at least in the short term, especially after Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia came out last week against any changes to Senate filibuster rules.

There’s also something called “plus-up” payments. These are stimulus payments that will go to those who incorrectly got a lower amount in their earlier checks, due to a change in their tax income between 2019 to 2020. While both stimulus packages in 2019 were based on the tax returns from 2019, the Rescue Plan arrived once the tax season for 2020 was already underway.

“This batch includes the first of ongoing supplemental payments for people who earlier in March received payments based on their 2019 tax returns but are eligible for a new or larger payment based on their recently processed 2020 tax returns,” the official IRS website says, of the plus-up payments. 

“These ‘plus-up’ payments could include a situation where a person’s income dropped in 2020 compared to 2019, or a person had a new child or dependent on their 2020 tax return, and other situations.”

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters