From China Spring to Houston, family always at the root of Bell coaching treeBy SUSAN HAIGH, Associated Press Approximately 1 million taxpayers will automatically receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS in the coming weeks. The money will be directly deposited into eligible people’s bank accounts or sent in the mail by a paper check. The IRS said it’s distributing about $2.4 billion to taxpayers who failed to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns. People who missed one of the COVID stimulus payments or had received less than the full amount were able to claim the credit. But the IRS on Friday said it discovered many eligible taxpayers hadn’t done so. “Looking at our internal data, we realized that one million taxpayers overlooked claiming this complex credit when they were actually eligible,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement. Here’s more about the unexpected cash this group of taxpayers will soon receive: Sorry, it’s probably pretty low. The IRS said most taxpayers eligible for the federal stimulus payments, formally known as Economic Impact Payments, have already received them. The special payments announced by the IRS are being sent to those taxpayers who filed a 2021 tax return but left the data field for the Recovery Rebate Credit blank or they filled it out as $0 when they were actually eligible for the credit. Related Articles Eligible taxpayers don’t have to take any action. The payments will go out automatically this month and should arrive by direct deposit or check by late January 2025. They’ll be sent to the bank account listed on the taxpayer’s 2023 return or to the address IRS has on file. Payments will vary but the maximum amount will be $1,400 per individual. The IRS has posted information online about eligibility and how the payment was calculated. IRS plans to send separate letters to eligible taxpayers notifying them of the special payment. You still might be able to receive the money. However, taxpayers need to file a tax return and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit by the April 15, 2025 deadline, even if any income from a job, business or other source was minimal or nonexistent, according to IRS. There were three rounds of payments to households impacted by the pandemic, totaling $814 billion. IRS based the amounts that taxpayers received on their income, tax filing status and number of children or qualifying dependents. In March 2020, eligible individuals received up to $1,200 per income tax filer and $500 per child under the CARES Act. In December 2020, eligible individuals received up to $600 per income tax filer and $600 per child under the Consolidated Appropriations Act. In March 2021, eligible individuals received up to $1,400 per income tax filer and $1,400 per child under the American Rescue Plan Act.Economic crisis and household debt in the north
More than 100,000 state employees will get three extra days off this year after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis decided to give the workers additional time away from the job. The three days—December 23, 24 and 31—come in addition to the normally scheduled holidays on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. "Florida is in great shape, and we want to reward our state employees," DeSantis said in a statement. "After a full year—including three costly hurricanes—we hope these extra days off allow for state workers to spend more time with their families and loved ones during this holiday season." Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, called the move by DeSantis a "welcome" change. "The gesture of adding additional paid holidays to the calendar is always a welcome one, and Governor DeSantis' decision to do so is certainly in line with past decisions by governors of other states," Beene told Newsweek. "For states that don't already recognize days like Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve as state holidays, expansion of holidays like this one typically happens when the state budget allows it," he said. HR consultant Bryan Driscoll, however, called DeSantis' move a "cheap political stunt" instead of a gesture of employee support. "He's trying to paper over years of anti-worker policies with a feel-good headline. It's the equivalent of tossing crumbs to workers while gutting unions and stripping away job protections," Driscoll told Newsweek. While state employees are likely to enjoy a few extra days off, the decision doesn't deal with some important issues, he said. "This move does nothing to address the real issues facing workers in Florida, like the lack of paid family leave or protections for low-wage workers," Driscoll said. "It reflects a government more interested in optics than substance, prioritizing political games over real, lasting change for the workforce." When DeSantis ran for the GOP nomination for president, he focused much of his campaign on how efficiently he ran the state's small employee base, even though Florida is the third most populous state. "Florida state government [has the] lowest number of state employees per capita in the country," DeSantis said at a CNN town hall in January. In 2022, Florida had 164,829 employees, including both full- and part-time workers. And while the national average was 198 state government workers per 10,000 residents, Florida had just 82 state employees per 10,000 residents. Florida's financial picture looks good this year, Beene said, and many state employees might have worked longer hours than expected because of Hurricanes Milton, Helene and Debby, which all made landfall in the Sunshine State. "State revenues are strong, some employees worked longer hours than expected due to multiple natural disasters, and Christmas and New Year's falling in the middle of the week make it difficult for employees wanting to spend additional time with their families capable of doing so," he said.