Veterans will get stimulus checks automatically, after earlier issues

Veterans and their family members will automatically receive coronavirus stimulus checks from the federal government without further action required from those individuals, the Treasury Department and the IRS announced Friday. 

There had been earlier confusion as to whether as many as 2 million veterans would miss out on the one-time federal payments.

It was among the latest snafus for the $290 billion program, which was created as part of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package enacted last month. 

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Americans generally are required to file a tax return in order to receive their money, which the IRS began issuing over the past several days. The IRS uses that information to determine the eligibility for and the size of the payments, which can total up to $1,200 per individual and $2,400 per married couple. 

But many veterans and their survivors who rely solely on government benefits, such as disability payments from Veterans Affairs, do not typically have to submit a tax return.

The IRS and Treasury are waiving the filing requirement. Veterans and their beneficiaries who receive Compensation and Pension benefit payments will get the stimulus payments automatically and without additional paperwork, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

“Economic Impact Payments will be issued automatically to our Veterans and their families who did not file tax returns for 2018 or 2019,” Mnuchin said in an announcement on Friday.

“The Treasury, IRS and [U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs] are working hard to ensure our nation’s heroes receive these payments quickly and without any additional action or paperwork,” he said.