Us Stimulus Package : Everything You Need To Know
On March 27, President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act.
This $2 trillion U.S. stimulus package is the largest emergency relief bill in American history. The bill plans to help people, families, businesses, and the economy cope with the disastrous effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, how will it help?
Well, this U.S. stimulus package includes one-time cash payments of up to $1,200 to Americans who qualify.
In this article, we demystify everything you need to know about the 2020 U.S. stimulus package: what it is, who receives it, how much theyll receive, and what to do to get it. Well also specifically hit on how small businesses can receive money.
Lets dive in.
What To Do If A Deceased Family Member Received A Stimulus Check
If a deceased family member has received a stimulus check in their name, the IRS has issued guidance stating that the money should be returned immediately. More specifically, anyone who died before payment was received does not qualify for a check. The only exception to this is if a payment was made to joint filers and one of the spouses is still alive. If this describes your situation, you only need to return the decedents half of the money.
According to the IRS, if you need to return payment for a deceased loved one, here are the steps to follow:
- Direct deposit payments, and paper check payments that have not been cashed
- Step 1: Mail a personal check or money order for the correct amount to your states IRS refund inquiry unit.
- Step 2: Make the check or money order payable to U.S. Treasury and write 2020EIP and the decedents Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number.
- Step 3: In the envelope, include a note that explains why the check is being returned.
Can The Irs Or Other Creditors Take My Check If I Owe Back Taxes Child Support Or Other Debts
Stimulus money is generally not subject to reduction or offset to pay back taxes or other debts owed to the federal or a state government. However, if you owe child support, the IRS can use stimulus check money to pay arrears.
The law doesnt exempt stimulus payments from garnishment by other creditors or debt collectors. However, some members of Congress and a several state Attorney Generals are pressuring the IRS to create such an exemption by regulation or by issuing other guidance. Well follow this additional open question and report any new developments.
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How Can I Get My Stimulus Payment Faster
The quickest way to get your payment is through direct deposit. Beware of scams! The IRS will not contact you by phone, email, text message, or social media to request personal information especially banking details or ask you to provide a processing fee. They will send written correspondence with instructions on steps to take and the timeframe for action. Remember, you do not need to pay to get this money.
Additionally, the IRS refers to this money as an Economic Impact Payment. Communications that use stimulus check or recovery rebate are unlikely to be from the IRS. Hang up on phone calls you receive and delete email or text messages that seem too good to be true. You can report scams to the Better Business Bureau to helps protect others.
What If I Don’t Receive A Third Stimulus Check
Those who don’t file tax returns, including those who earn little income and recent college graduates, may have to wait until they file a tax return in April 2022 to get their stimulus rebate if they didn’t file a tax return for 2020 taxes or submit “non-filer” information to the IRS last year. Married couples with incomes below $24,400 and individuals with incomes under $12,200 fall into this category.
The IRS is still updating its Get My Payment tool with new payment information. Once it’s loaded with up-to-date information, individuals can check when their stimulus payment went out. If you have any issue with getting your second or third payment, see our article on what to do if you haven’t received your stimulus check.
Filing a tax return for 2020. If you don’t receive government benefits, and you didn’t file a tax return for 2019 or 2020 taxes or submit “non-filer” information to the IRS by November 21, 2020, you may not automatically get a third stimulus check. You might need to wait to file a tax return for the 2021 tax year and request a “Recovery Rebate Credit.” You will fill in the amount you are owed on line 30 of IRS Form 1040 .
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Who Isn’t Eligible For The Third Stimulus Check
Besides high-income earners, the only other individuals who aren’t eligible for the stimulus check are those without Social Security numbers , those who are claimed as dependents on someone else’s tax return, and possibly those who are incarcerated.
This time, an individual who is married to an immigrant without a Social Security number can get the stimulus check, though the spouse with only an individual taxpayer identification number still will not receive a check.
What about children? Parents should get an extra $1,400 for each child that they claimed as a dependent on their 2020 tax return. This is a change from the first and second stimulus checks, where only children who hadn’t reached age 17 could qualify for the stimulus money.
What about people who don’t pay taxes? There is no requirement that you paid taxes or filed a tax return in 2020. This means that even those people whose only source of income is Social Security retirement or disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income , or veterans benefits are eligible for the $1,400 payment.
Those who receive monthly Social Security benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits, SSI, or veterans benefits should automatically receive the stimulus check whether they filed tax returns or not.
What about people receiving unemployment? Those collecting unemployment benefits are eligible to receive the stimulus payment.
The Third Round Of Stimulus Checks
The most recent checks were included in the American Rescue Plan, which was enacted on March 11, 2021. Eligible individuals will receive a payment of $1,400 , plus an additional $1,400 per eligible child. However, those payments phase out quickly for incomes above $75,000 for single taxpayers, above $112,500 for taxpayers filing as head of household, and above $150,000 for married couples filing jointly. Taxpayers would be ineligible for any payment, unless they have a qualifying child, above the following income levels:
- $80,000 for single taxpayers
- $120,000 for taxpayers filing as head of household
- $160,000 for married couples filing jointly
Similar to previous iterations of the payments, most taxpayers will receive the funds by direct deposit. For Social Security and other beneficiaries who received previous payments via debit card, they will receive this third payment the same way. Overall, such payments are expect to cost $411 billion through 2030 according to the Congressional Budget Office.
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Will I Get A Stimulus Check
You will get a check if you:
- Have a Social Security number.
- Have filed taxes in 2018 or 2019, or don’t earn enough to file but receive federal benefits payments, including Social Security retirement or disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income , or Veterans Affairs benefits.
- Earned less than $99,000 for single filers, $136,500 for heads of household, or $198,000 for married filers according to the most recent tax return filed.
- Are not claimed by someone else as a dependent.
What If I Get My Stimulus Check And It’s Too Big
You don’t need to do anything.
Technically, this payment is a tax credit. A tax credit reduces your tax bill on a dollar-for-dollar basis. It is one of the last steps in calculating your annual tax liability and can be claimed regardless of whether you itemize your deductions. Some tax credits, like the coronavirus recovery rebate, are refundable. That means you’ll still get the money even if you don’t have enough tax liability to offset it.
There aren’t any clawback provisions outlined in the law, so you wouldn’t be expected to repay any of the money if you wind up getting too much.
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What If My Stimulus Check Is Too Big Or Too Small
If you get more money than youre entitled to, you dont need to do anything.
It seems that there are no provisions in the current bill that mention taking the money back. This means you shouldnt have to repay any of the money.
Now, if you dont receive all of the money youre entitled to, what happens then? Tax lawyer Kelly Phillips Erb explains:
If you should have gotten a check and didnt, or if you should have gotten more than you did because the IRS didnt know something important , you should get more money
In other words, although it wont help you now, you should get the rest of the money youre entitled to when you file taxes at the end of the year.
What Is Stimulus Check Amount
The relief amount is fixed at $1,200 for persons with filing status of single. If you file a joint tax return, then both you and your spouse will get $1,200 . The stimulus package also take into account if you have qualifying child . If you have , then you get an additional $500 for each child. However , the computation of check amount is not simple because of the provision of phase out for people having adjusted gross income of $75,000 or more .
The following table gives you an idea of amounts based on your adjusted gross income and filing status:
| Filing status |
The IRS has not yet announced how much taxpayers filing married filing separately will receive.
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If I Am The Custodial Parent And Im Currently Receiving Or Have Ever Received Tanf Or Medicaid For My Child Will I Receive Any Money From A Tax Return Intercepted By The Federal Government From The Noncustodial Parent On My Case
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Maybe. Federal law dictates how monies received by a state child support agencyunder the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program are distributed. In Texas, federal tax offsets are applied first to assigned arrears, or arrears owned by the state, and then to arrearages owed to the family. If there is money owed to the state in your case, the intercept stimulus payments up to the amount owed to the state will be retained by the state. The remainder of money will be sent to you, up to the amount of unassigned arrears owed to you by the noncustodial parent.The amount of the money you are entitled to receive will depend on a number of factors, including the amount of the tax refund intercepted, the amounts owed to you in your case, and the number of other child support cases in which the noncustodial parent owes child support arrears.You must also have a full-service case open with the Child Support Division to be entitled to receive any monies from an intercepted tax return.
Do I Get A Check If Im Retired Or On Social Security
Yes. You will still be eligible to receive a stimulus check. Adjusted Gross Income will be based on your 2019 tax return . If you have not filed a return for either year, the rebate amount will be determined based on Social Security Administration records.
Update: The IRS has announced that those on Social Security DO NOT need to file a tax return to qualify, payment will be automatic. More details can be found here
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What If I Am Married To Someone Who Owes Child Support Will My Tax Return Be Applied To The Child Support Arrears They May Owe
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Yes,unless you are eligible for relief. If youdo not owe child support butyouare married tosomeonewhoowes child support,you may need to file an Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation -Form 8379
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In some instances, the IRS offsets a portion of the payment sent to a spouse who filed an injured spouse claim if it has been offset by the non-injured spouses past-due child support. The FAQ on the IRS stimulus FAQ www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payment-information-center website states: The IRS is aware that in some instances a portion of the payment sent to a spouse who filed an injured spouse claim with his or her 2019 tax return has been offset by the non-injured spouses past-due child support. The IRS is working with the Bureau of the Fiscal Service and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement, to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. If you filed an injured spouse claim with your return and are impacted by this issue, you do not need to take any action. The injured spouse will receive their unpaid half of the total payment when the issue is resolved.
First Round Of Cares Act Stimulus Checks: What Expats Should Know
Q. What did the CARES Act 2020 Coronavirus stimulus check mean for U.S. expats?
A. The CARES Act stimulus check expats got in 2020 was technically a 2020 tax credit in advance.
It was part of the CARES Act Coronavirus stimulus package, which was designed to help get the economy back on its feet while we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. In it are a variety of benefits for both individuals and corporations to ease the financial burden of the shutdowns and shelter-in-place orders. For the average American, the main benefits are cash payments and a variety of other debt relief options. The amount each taxpayer got depends on a variety of factors.
Q. Did I qualify for a CARES Act stimulus check if I live overseas?
A. Yes, expats qualified for the CARES Act stimulus checks. You qualified if you fell within the income threshold, had a social security number, and filed taxes even if you lived overseas. If you didnt get it, you can still apply for it retroactively as a tax credit on your 2020 tax return.
Q. What is the Recovery Rebate Credit?
A. If you didnt get the full amount you were owed, you may be able to apply for the Recovery Rebate Credit. Any eligible individual who did not receive the full amount of the recovery rebate as an advance payment, also known as an Economic Impact Payment, can claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on a 2020 Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR.
Q. How much was the CARES Act stimulus check for?
Q. Did I have to pay back the amount I got?
A. No
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Can I Get A Stimulus Check If I Don’t Work
They don’t need to have a job,” the IRS writes. “For eligible individuals, the IRS will still issue the payment even if they haven’t filed a tax return in years.” The quickest way to receive a stimulus payment is via direct deposit. … Otherwise, payments will be mailed to the address provided on each return.
Who Is Eligible For A Stimulus Check
The vast majority of Michigan residents are eligible to receive a stimulus check from the federal government this year. Even if you have no income, you are still eligible, but need to take action to receive your stimulus payment. This includes individuals with low or no earnings who normally don’t file taxes. Every American adult earning less than $75,000 is eligible for a stimulus check from the federal government this year. While this site is geared toward Michigan residents, the information is applicable nationwide.If you still have questions about your stimulus check after reviewing this website, call the IRS at or, United Way at .
After you sign up, make sure to add your account information on the IRS website. If you dont want to sign up for a bank account, you can also link to your prepaid debit card instead.You can also receive your funds through the Cash App, by providing the IRS with the routing and account numbers connected to your Cash App. You can download the Cash App or locate your Cash App account information here.
What if I havent filed taxes?
What if I dont qualify – where else can I get help?
If you dont qualify for the stimulus payment, we recommend reaching out to Michigan 2-1-1. They can connect you to resources in your community.
Will my payment be reduced or offset if I owe tax, have a payment agreement with the IRS, owe other Federal or State debt, or owe other debt collectors?
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I Get Ssi Should I Spend The Stimulus Money Within A Year What Can I Spend It On
Spend down your CARES Act EIP money before 12 months have passed since receiving the payment. You are not limited in what you can spend the money on. You can spend down on whatever you wish, including on gifts and charitable contributions. If you dont spend it within 12 months, the Social Security Administration will count the money as a resource.