Thousands in Louisiana may have unclaimed $1,200 federal aid

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Nearly 160,000 people in Louisiana may have missed out on the $1,200 individual payments that Congress authorized earlier this year because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Louisiana Department of Revenue says the IRS is mailing letters to the Louisiana residents and urging them to apply for the assistance by an Oct. 15 deadline.

The payments are $1,200 for individuals, $2,400 for married couples and $500 for each dependent.

Most of the payments went out months ago to people who file federal income tax returns.

But the revenue department says most of those receiving letters notifying them of possible eligibility aren’t required to file federal tax returns because of low incomes.