IR-2020-96, May 15, 2020
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced today the availability of additional material for partner groups sharing information related to Economic Impact Payments, including a new toolkit in Spanish and a variety of other print and visual items available.
Even with more than 130 million Economic Impact Payments delivered to date and millions more on the way, there are still people who may not realize they may qualify for a payment of $1,200 or more. To help reach people who don’t normally file a tax return, the IRS has embarked on a sweeping outreach effort to share information in multiple languages inside and outside the tax community.
“From the enactment of the CARES Act, the IRS has embarked on an unprecedented outreach effort to share information about Economic Impact Payments,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “We want to reach every eligible person and encourage everyone to share this information with family and friends, and groups and businesses to send it to partners and clients. During these difficult times, each of you can make a difference by helping us help others.”
The IRS has placed a special emphasis on partnering with new organizations that work with groups focusing on veterans, homeless, low-income taxpayers as well as non-English speaking audiences to share information about the payments. In all, the IRS has worked with thousands of partners across the country reaching organizations representing hundreds of millions of taxpayers.
Special materials available on IRS.gov; Partner toolkit available in English and Spanish
To help share information with your family, friends, partners and clients, the IRS has more than 40 ready-to-use materials available. These are available at Economic Impact Payments: Partner and Promotional Materials. These materials include:
- IRS e-posters and Twitter images that can be used on websites, social media, newsletters and other platforms.
- Print materials include Tax Tips, short, plain English summaries of EIP, and “Ready to Use” articles that can be shared with family, friends, partners and clients in emails, newsletters and web sites.
The IRS also has a special partner toolkit now available in both Spanish (PDF) and English (PDF). The toolkit offers a summary of various items related to Economic Impact Payments that partner groups can share.
In addition, the IRS has been working closely with partners in the tax community as the private sector worked to translate key Economic Impact Payments into more than two dozen different languages to get key information to more people.
IRS social media shares information
The IRS continues regularly sharing Economic Impact Payment information on social media. Organizations are encouraged to share these information items, which also including new developments related to Economic Impact Payments and other provisions related to the CARES Act:
- Twitter:Taxpayers, businesses and tax professionals can follow the IRS handles for up to the minute announcements, tips and alerts in English and Spanish.
- Facebook: News and information for everybody. Also available in Spanish.
- Instagram: The IRS Instagram account shares taxpayer-friendly information.
- YouTube: The IRS offers video tax tips in English, Spanish and American Sign Language.
IRS works with other federal agencies to share information
As part of the wider outreach effort, the IRS has been working with other federal agencies to share information, ranging from the Treasury Department and the Bureau of Fiscal Service to the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition to those groups, a number of federal agencies have additional information of interest to taxpayers, including:
- FDIC. To help people without bank accounts obtain an Economic Impact Payment, the FDIC website has created a special page. It includes information for people describing where to find a bank that can open an account online and how to choose the right account.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CFPB has produced several videos related to Economic Impact Payments and other COVID-19 information. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-expands-partner-materials-for-economic-impact-payments-continues-sweeping-effort-to-share-details-in-multiple-languages
