Please note this blog article was published on April 14, 2020 and is not relative to the new Stimulus Payments in 2021. Click here for information regarding the Stimulus Payments that started being distributed in January 2021.
The IRS’s website is the best resource for receiving the most up-to-date information regarding Economic Impact Payments. Based on the current information available as of April 14, 2020, here are some facts about the stimulus payments.
How much will the Economic Impact Payment be?
Many adults will get a one-time payment of $1,200, although some would get less depending on their annual income reported to the IRS.
- Single adults with Social Security numbers who have an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less will get the full amount of $1,200.
- For every qualifying child age 16 or under, the payment will be an additional $500.
- Married couples with no children earning $150,000 or less will receive a total of $2,400.
- Taxpayers filing as head of household will get the full payment if they earned $112,500 or less.
- The payment amount decreases until it stops altogether for single people earning $99,000 or married people who have no children and earn $198,000.
- A family with two children will no longer be eligible for any payments if its income surpassed $218,000.
- You can’t get a payment if someone claims you as a dependent, even if you’re an adult.
- In any given family and in most instances, everyone must have a valid Social Security number in order to be eligible.
- There is an exception for members of the military.
You can find your adjusted gross income on Line 8b of the 2019 1040 federal tax return.
When will payments be deposited or mailed?
For taxpayers who have previously filed electronically and for whom the IRS has their direct deposit information, it is estimated that between 50 million to 70 million Americans will receive their payments as early as April 15. The Treasury will continue to issue the payments every Friday following the initial batch on April 15.
People who haven’t provided their direct-deposit information to the IRS previously will likely face a longer wait, with paper checks slated to start being issued the week of May 4.
Printed checks will be issued at a rate of about 5 million per week, which means it could take up to 20 weeks to get all printed checks out. This means that some checks could be delayed until August or September.
Printed Checks will be prioritized and mailed by income level, with the lowest-income Americans receiving their checks the earliest
- Individual taxpayers who earn less than $20,000 would have their checks mailed the week of May 4th.
- Those earning $30,000 or less would have their checks in the mail the following week, May 11th.
- That would continue week by week through early September until completed.
The use the IRS online Get My Payment portal. The Get My Payment portal will allow people to:
- See the status of their payment.
- The date their check will be deposited or mailed.
- Allow people to provide their bank account information so they can receive their payment quicker rather than wait for a paper check.
What year’s income should I be looking at?
2019. If you haven’t prepared a tax return yet, you can use your 2018 return. If you haven’t filed that yet, you can use a 2019 Social Security statement showing your income to see what an employer reported to the I.R.S.
Who is eligible to receive a stimulus payment?
U.S. residents will receive the Economic Impact Payment of $1,200 for individual or head of household filers, and $2,400 for married filing jointly if they are not a dependent of another taxpayer and have a work eligible Social Security number with adjusted gross income up to:
- $75,000 for individuals
- $112,500 for head of household filers and
- $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns
Taxpayers will receive a reduced payment if their AGI is between:
- $75,000 and $99,000 if their filing status was single or married filing separately
- 112,500 and $136,500 for head of household
- $150,000 and $198,000 if their filing status was married filing jointly
The amount of the reduced payment will be based upon the taxpayers specific adjusted gross income.
Eligible retirees and recipients of Social Security, Railroad Retirement, disability or veterans’ benefits as well as taxpayers who do not make enough money to normally have to file a tax return will receive a payment. This also includes those who have no income, as well as those whose income comes entirely from certain benefit programs, such as Supplemental Security Income benefits.
Retirees who receive either Social Security retirement or Railroad Retirement benefits will also receive payments automatically.
Do College Students Get anything?
Not if they are currently being claimed as a dependent on anyone’s tax return. Typically, college students are considered dependents until age 24 unless otherwise stipulated on financial aid paperwork or other documents. College students should review their FAFSA paperwork if they have questions about stimulus payment reliability.
Will I have to apply to receive a payment?
No. If you typically file taxes, the I.R.S. already has your bank account information from your 2019 or 2018 returns, it will transfer the money to you via direct deposit based on the recent income-tax figures it has on file.
But, if you typically DO NOT FILE TAXES, the I.R.S. launched a web tool for non-filers to register for their stimulus payment.
This new tool is designed for people who did not file a tax return for 2018 or 2019 and who don’t receive Social Security retirement, disability benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits, or low income, veterans, and other qualified groups.
What if my direct deposit information has changed or I want to add it for the first time?
The use the IRS online Get My Payment portal. The Get My Payment portal allows you to:
- Allow people to provide their bank account information so they can receive their payment quicker rather than wait for a paper check. NOTE: The add bank account feature will be unavailable if the Economic Impact Payment has already been scheduled for delivery.
- See the status of their payment.
- The date their check will be deposited or mailed.
If my payment doesn’t arrive, how can I be sure that it wasn’t misdirected?
According to the CARES Act, you will get a paper notice in the mail no later than a few weeks after your payment has been disbursed. That notice will contain information about where the payment ended up and in what form it was made.
If you can’t locate your payment after receiving your printed payment notice, it is recommended that you contact the I.R.S. using the information on the notice.
The use the IRS online Get My Payment portal. The Get My Payment portal will you to:
- See the status of their payment.
- The date their check will be deposited or mailed.
- Allow people to provide their bank account information so they can receive their payment quicker rather than wait for a paper check. NOTE: The add bank account feature will be unavailable if the Economic Impact Payment has already been scheduled for delivery.
What if I’m not required to file a tax return?
Social Security recipients, senior citizens, and railroad retirees do not need to do anything to receive their Economic Impact Payment. Each person who falls into one of these brackets will receive $1,200. The IRS will use Form SSA-1099 or Form RRB-1099 to determine where to send your payment.
Where can I find more information?
There is more information available on the IRS Newsroom page or the IRS Coronavirus page. These two resources are updated frequently with new information.
I’ve never used direct deposit, what do I need to know?
If you’ve never used direct deposit before, you’ll need to use the IRS online Get My Payment portal to let the IRS know where to send your direct deposit. You’ll need to know some information about your credit union or bank account, specifically the routing and account numbers associated with the account you’d like to receive the deposit in.
The routing number for your financial institution can be found at the bottom of your check (as shown below within the red circle). If you don’t have checks, you will likely find it on the institution’s website homepage. Domestic banks and credit unions do not have IBAN or SWIFT codes/numbers. (Note: Discovery FCU’s routing and transit number is 231385646, which you can also find at the bottom of this webpage). Your account number is the string of numbers to the right of the routing number (to the right of the red circle).
