Update: Most stimulus payments will be out Wednesday, US Treasury says
Check your bank account. If you qualify for a government rebate via direct deposit, it should be there by Wednesday in many cases.
The Internal Revenue Service started depositing the money Saturday. Monday, IRS and the Treasury Department said “tens of millions of Americans will receive their payments via direct deposit by Wednesday, April 15.”
Many who filed tax returns in 2018 or 2019 and have provided direct deposit information to the IRS In the past should see deposits that will usually total $1,200 per adult and $500 per child soon.
If the money isn’t there, consumers can after Friday go to a new IRS site, Get My Payment, which went on line Wednesday. It will allow people to check the status of their rebate. It should include the date the payment would be deposited or mailed.
That site should also include a way for those without an account on file to provide it, so they can get their payment more quickly.
That’s the easy part.
Here are some of the concerns we’ve been hearing from readers, and answers and suggestions from the Internal Revenue Service, the House Ways and Means Committee’s and the nonpartisan Tax Foundation:
Timing
“The precise date you will see payments in your account depends on how long individual banks typically take to process direct deposits,” the House Ways and Means Republican staff says.
Social Security recipients
“Any person that has a valid Social Security number, is not considered as a dependent of someone else, and whose adjusted gross income does not exceed certain thresholds is eligible to receive the credit,” the Ways and Means GOP advises. That includes people receiving welfare benefits as well as Social Security recipients.
The IRS says it will use the information on the Form SSA-1099 and Form RRB-1099 to generate the payments even if no tax return was filed in 2018 or 2019.
Recipients will receive these payments as a direct deposit or by paper check, just as they would normally receive their benefits,” the IRS says.
Changes in income
If your income goes way up this year, and you wouldn’t qualify for a rebate based on that income, don’t worry. The qualifying year is the year you use for the rebate, either 2018 or 2019.
If your income plunges this year, and you didn’t qualify because you earned too much in 2018 or 2019, you’ll have the credit applied when you file next year for 2020, the Tax Foundation says.
Non-filers with no taxable income
Friday, the IRS began providing a form for people in this category. For more information click here https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here
Social Security recipients with dependent children
Use the Non-filer: Enter Payment Information site cited above, IRS says.
Supplemental Security Income recipients and veterans’ beneficiaries
The IRS says it “continues to explore ways” to see if the payments can be made automatically to SSI beneficiaries and people who did not file a 2018 or 2019 tax return and after receiving veterans disability compensation, pension or survivor benefits.
They can use the website called “Non-filers: Enter Payment Info,” or, the IRS says, “wait as the IRS continues to review automatic payment options to simplify delivery for these groups.”
Income levels
Full rebates of $1,200 will go to individuals who earn $75,000 in adjusted gross income for individuals or $150,000 for couples. Each dependent child 16 and under also gets $500. The amounts are phased out until individuals who earned $99,000 and couples making $198,000 get nothing.
Social Security disability
“Social Security beneficiaries should receive their rebate through the bank account associated with receiving benefits,” the Tax Foundation says.
Paper checks
They should start going out the week of May 4, Ways and Means Democrats said in a memo. Lowest income people will be mailed checks first, and the entire process should be completed by mid-September.
Where to get more information
Go to this page: https://www.irs.gov/help/telephone-assistance. Be patient, because IRS taxpayer assistance centers are closed because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Another alternative is to call or email your local congressman or senator. Here’s one way to find their contact information: https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Congress. Click on the section for your state.
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Update: Most stimulus payments will be out Wednesday, US Treasury says."
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