Where’s my money? Answers to your questions as stimulus checks start to hit bank accounts
Economic stimulus payments of $1,400 per qualifying adult and child are about to hit Californians’ bank accounts, and there’s bound to be some confusion.
I thought payments went out over the weekend, so why can’t I access the money? Why am I getting a check instead of direct deposit? How have the rules changed from last year?
Look for changes from the previous two stimulus payments that had been approved last year.
“The biggest difference with this round of payments are that adult dependents can qualify for them,” said Garrett Watson, senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, a Washington based economic analysis firm.
Also worth noting, he said, is that income limits are somewhat different. Eligibility starts to phase out earlier than before.
Don’t feel lost if all this is overwhelming. “Confusion reigns!” said Claudia Stanley, a certified public accountant in Fresno.
This is the third stimulus payment in the last year. The first came last spring and the second was authorized in late December, meaning most people got that one this year.
Questions and Answers
With the help of Watson, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and Internal Revenue Service officials, here are what IRS and The Bee have found to be the most asked questions:
Q. Do I need to do anything to claim the money?
A. If you have direct deposit and are eligible, no.
Q. How can I check the status of my payment?
A. Go to the IRS’ get my payment site.
Q. How does the Internal Revenue Service know if I’m eligible?
A. It looks at the income information on your 2020 tax return. If you haven’t filed yet, or it has not been processed, the IRS will use the 2019 return.
Last year, 18.1 million Californians got benefits during the spring round of stimulus payments, and 13 million were deposited electronically, according to the IRS. Another 5 million people received checks.
Q. If I don’t get my payment this week, when will I see it?
A. “In the coming weeks,” IRS and Treasury officials said Monday.
The payments are officially set to begin in California Wednesday at 9 a.m. PDT. The first wave of funds was sent to financial institutions over the weekend, but some may find their payment is not available until then..
“Some Americans may see the direct deposit payments as pending or as provisional payments in their accounts before the official payment date of March 17,” the IRS advises.
Q. I get Social Security and don’t usually file a tax return. Will the IRS know if I’m eligible?
A. The agency says it is working with the Social Security Administration to get the needed information. More details to come.
Q. How much will I get?
A. The average benefit to California filers and their families should be about $2,350, according to a new analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington-based research group.
Q. The more we earn, the less we receive, correct?
A. Yes. If your adjusted gross income is less than $75,000 (if you filed individually) or $150,000 if filing jointly, you will get $1,400 for you and each qualifying dependent. The benefit is reduced for individuals making between $75,000 and $80,000, and joint filers making between $150,000 and $160,000.
The phaseout limits are below those applied last year.
Q. So are most Californians likely to see the money?
A. Eighty percent will, according to the Institute, since it pegs the average income of a state resident at $111,300.
Q. I still have not received the last stimulus payment. Will it be included in this one?
A. No. You can claim previous stimulus payments on your tax return. Look for Line 30, the Recovery Rebate Credit. For the status of your 2020 payments, check https://www.irs.gov/payments/view-your-tax-account.
Q. Stanley referred to confusion with all these stimulus payments. What does she advise?
A. “With the second stimulus being paid to most people in 2021, we’ve had to explain over and over why we need to know the amount of their second stimulus to complete their 2020 return,” she said, so make sure you provide that information to your tax preparer.
Q. I wasn’t able to get last year’s payment directly deposited. Instead I got a check. Will I get one again?
A. You should either get a check or a new debit card. If you have a debit card from last year’s stimulus, you’ll get a new one for this year’s payment. About 17,000 Californians received debit cards in the first round of stimulus payments last year.
Q.. How do I know if the letter I get is really from the IRS?
A. IRS advises it “will come in a white envelope prominently displaying the U.S. Department of the Treasury seal. It has the Visa name on the front of the Card and the issuing bank, MetaBank®, N.A. on the back of the card. Information included with the card will explain that this is an Economic Impact Payment.”
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Where’s my money? Answers to your questions as stimulus checks start to hit bank accounts."
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story had an incorrect website to check for IRS payments. The correct address is https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment.
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