Can I Cash A Check From 5 Years Ago
Legally, banks do not have to cash a check after six months The hard part is figuring out what to do if it resurfaces months, or even years, laterperhaps after its expiration date. Legally, banks are only required to honor checks for six months. Ask for a new check if the old one is past the six-month mark.
What Should You Do If Your Plus
The IRS has until Dec. 31, 2021, to finish sending stimulus check payments, and that will include the catch-up payments for people who are still owed stimulus money. But if the automatic adjustment never arrives, what should you do?
If you know how much stimulus money you should expect, using our stimulus calculator as a baseline, and the amount the IRS tells you to expect differs greatly from the total the IRS said it gave you in a confirmation letter, you’ll need to keep an eagle eye out for payment adjustments.
If the extra money never arrives, you may need to file a claim, either later in 2021 or potentially a year from now on your 2021 tax return. This is much like the current Recovery Rebate Credit for missing stimulus check money from the first two rounds of stimulus payments.
We’ve asked the IRS for more information on how long it could take to send out all of these supplemental payments, and what to do if your plus-up payment never arrives. We’ll update this story when we get more information.
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What Money Is Coming With My Tax Refund This Year
There are several things that could be tacked on to your tax refund this year. As usual, if you overpaid your taxes in 2021, you’ll receive that money back. However, if you’re a parent, you could also expect to receive the rest of your child tax credit money, as well as a reimbursement for money you spent on child care related expenses last year.
Also, if you’re still missing your third stimulus payment, you might receive that when you get your tax refund.
What If You Never Get Your Third Stimulus Payment Or If Any Money Is Missing
If you’re eligible to receive a third stimulus check, but yours never arrives by direct deposit, paper check, EIP card or Direct Express card , you’ll likely have to take an additional step to claim that money. This happened to millions of people during the first and second round of payments for several reasons, including IRS errors, out-of-date banking information or addresses and nonfilers not taking an extra step to get their information to the IRS.
Much like with the first and second checks, you’ll likely be able to claim any missing money from the third check owed to you or your dependents during tax season next year, 2022. However, the IRS has yet to say if there will be an opportunity to claim missing money in 2021 instead. The best thing to do right now to make sure your third check does arrive is to file your tax return as soon as possible, even if you don’t usually have to file one.
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What To Know If A Family Member In Your Household Died
If you received a payment for someone who died in 2019 or earlier, the IRS says you should return the entire payment “unless it was made to joint filers and one spouse is still living.” If you’re the living spouse, you should return half the payment — just not more than $1,200 in all.
However, if the check is issued in both your name and your deceased spouse’s name , you’ll need to return the whole amount to the IRS. After the agency processes the returned payment, it will issue a new check with the correct amount for you.
For the third check, it depends on which tax return the IRS uses. If it uses your 2019 tax return, you’ll likely get to keep the amount you received for the person who has died.
If You Have A New Dependent In 2021 They Count Toward Your Stimulus Payment
If you added a baby or new dependent on your 2020 federal tax filing, you qualify for stimulus money for that addition, as much as $1,100 by claiming it on your taxes this year.
The same goes for this year, too. If you had a baby in 2021 — or adopted a child or added a dependent — you can get a stimulus payment for that new dependent. You will need to wait until you file your taxes in 2022, however, to claim that money as a rebate credit.
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How Long Are State/local Government Checks Good For
Checks from the state or local government agencies will expire according to state law. So, how long a state tax refund check is good for will vary from state to state, but generally its 6 months to a year. If you have an expired state tax refund check, you should contact the state and request a new check. Just like with the federal checks, youre still entitled to what the government owes you.
When you receive a check from a governmental agency, read the check and look for anything that tells you when it expires. The best bet is to deposit or cash the check before the expiration date.
How Long Is A Check Good For
Banks dont have to accept checks that are more than 6 months old. Thats according to the Uniform Commercial Code , a set of laws governing commercial exchanges, including checks. However, banks can still choose to accept your check.
Sometimes banks will still process an old check as long as the institution believes the funds are good. A Federal Reserve regulation says a bank does not have to deposit a check if it has reason to doubt that it will be able to collect the money from the paying bank.
The rules are a bit different for certified checks, U.S. Treasury checks and money orders.
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What If My Spouse Is Considered A ‘nonresident Alien’
Under the CARES Act, if you had a Social Security number but your spouse is a nonresident alien, and you filed taxes jointly, you weren’t eligible to receive a first stimulus payment. If filing jointly, both spouses must have had valid Social Security numbers to get a payment, unless one of them is a member of the US Armed Forces during the tax year. However, if you file your 2020 taxes separately from your spouse, you may be eligible to get a payment on your 2020 return.
But this rule changed under the bill governing the third check: Families with mixed status, or those whose members have different citizenship and immigration classifications, are eligible for a third stimulus check, though to qualify, one member needs to have a Social Security number.
What If I Get Government Benefits Will These Payments Count Against Eligibility Or Unemployment Insurance
Economic Impact Payments dont count against means-tested programs like SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid. The payments are not counted as income during the month they are received and the following month and they are not counted as a resource for 12 months.
You will receive the check regardless of your employment status. The check will not impact your eligibility for unemployment payments.
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What If The Irs Still Hasn’t Processed Your 2019 Taxes
Due to pandemic-related delays, the IRS is still working its way through a backlog of paper tax returns from 2019. As of the end of January 2021, there were 6.7 million individual income tax returns for 2019 that had yet to be processed, according to the agency. These processing delays could be due to a number of things, including a mistake, missing information, or suspected identity theft or fraud. If the IRS contacts you for more information, you should get a letter. Resolving the problem then depends on how quickly and accurately you get back to the agency.
However, the new bill specifies that a third stimulus check will be based on your 2019 or 2020 tax return — not your 2018 one. The bill says: “On the basis of information available to the Secretary shall, on the basis of such information, determine the advance refund amount with respect to such individual.”
If your 2019 tax return is still being processed, the best thing to do right now is to file your 2020 return electronically as soon as you can, according to , a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. But if the holdup in processing your 2019 return is due to a problem that also occurs on your 2020 return, your return may get slowed down — which could delay your payment, Holtzblatt said.
What If I Live In One Of The Freely Associated States
If you are a citizen or a resident of the Freely Associated States — the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands or the Republic of Palau — you may not be entitled to a payment. However, if you are a resident of a US territory for the tax year 2020 for US territory income tax purposes, you may be eligible for a payment through the US territory tax agency. You should get in touch with your local tax agency to find out.
If you are a US citizen or resident for federal income tax purposes but live in one of the Freely Associated States, you may be eligible for a payment from the IRS.
People who live in US territories were eligible for a first stimulus check under the CARES Act.
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What If I Filed My Taxes Last Year Under My Previous Name And Have Changed My Name Since I Filed Those Taxes
If you file taxes and have not filed your 2019 taxes, you should file as soon as possible with your new name. Make sure your name is updated with the Social Security Administration.
If your stimulus check is written out to you under your previous legal name, you should still be able to deposit your check. However, you may need to speak with your bank and show your legal paperwork documenting your courtordered name change and old and new ID.
If you are cashing a check outside of a bank, bring your legal documents with you and try to call in advance to make sure that they dont have additional requirements to cash the check.
Can I File My Taxes With A Paper Return
Yes, however it is not recommended. If you have not filed your taxes yet and still need to, file electronically if possible. IRS processing of paper returns is delayed due to COVID-19. You can use GetCTC.org if you arent normally required to file taxes, and get support from the chat function on the site, where you can communicate with an IRS-certified volunteer to help you complete the form. GetCTC.org is available through November 15, 2021.
If you must file a paper return, you can download the tax forms from IRS.gov or use an online tax software program to complete your return and print it instead of filing electronically. If you need to file a paper return and do not have internet access, ask a trusted friend or relative for help.
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What Could Delay My Tax Refund
Here’s a list of reasons your income tax refund might be delayed:
- Your tax return has errors.
- It’s incomplete.
- Your refund is suspected of identity theft or fraud.
- You filed for the earned income tax credit or additional child tax credit.
- Your return needs further review.
- Your return includes Form 8379 , injured spouse allocation — which could take up to 14 weeks to process.
If the delay is due to a necessary tax correction made to a recovery rebate credit, earned income tax or additional child tax credit claimed on your return, the IRS will send you an explanation. If there’s a problem that needs to be fixed, the IRS will first try to proceed without contacting you. However, if it needs any more information, it will write you a letter.
How Long Will It Take The Irs To Send My Tax Refund
The IRS usually issues tax refunds within three weeks, but some taxpayers could have to wait a while longer to receive their payments. If there are any errors in your tax return, the wait could be lengthy.
When an issue delays your return, its resolution “depends on how quickly and accurately you respond, and the ability of IRS staff trained and working under social distancing requirements to complete the processing of your return,” according to the IRS website.
The date you receive your tax refund also depends on the method you used to file your return. If you submitted a tax return by mail, the IRS says it could take six to eight weeks for your tax refund to arrive once it’s been processed.
If your tax refund goes into your bank account via direct deposit, it could take an additional five days for your bank to post the money to your account. This means if it takes the IRS the full 21 days to issue your check and your bank five days to post it, you could be waiting a total of 26 days to get your tax refund. Online services like Venmo and Cash App can deliver your tax refund a few days sooner, since there’s no waiting period for the direct deposit.
It’s important to note that tax filers taking advantage of the child tax credit and/or the earned income tax credit will need to wait a bit longer. By law, the IRS can’t issue refunds to taxpayers with those credits until Feb. 15. The IRS has told early filers with those credits to expect a tax refund on March 1.
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If I Live In A Us Territory Am I Eligible For A Third Stimulus Check
If you’re one of the 4 million people living in a US territory — Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands — you were eligible for a first and second stimulus check, and will be for a third as well. However, the IRS doesn’t distribute the payments to the five territories. Instead, local tax authorities do, based on information provided by the IRS. If you live in one of the territories and didn’t receive a first or second payment, you should contact your local tax authority.
Still Don’t Have A Stimulus Check Here’s How To Track Yours
May 12, 2021 / 3:35 PM / MoneyWatch
While major banks in the U.S. started delivering $1,400 stimulus checks in March, the federal relief payments continue to arrive at millions of households struggling to make ends meet amid the coronavirus-hobbled economy.
The Internal Revenue Service has delivered more than 165 million payments, with a total value of approximately $388 billion, the agency said Wednesday. The latest round includes 1 million payments, with the IRS noting they have an official payment date of May 12. That means the most recent recipients will receive a direct deposit on Wednesday, or soon get a paper check or pre-paid debit card in the mail.
The timing and delivery of checks has been a cause of anxiety for some people, especially for those who receive government benefits such as Social Security and don’t typically file taxes. The IRS prioritized sending checks to people who have already filed their 2019 or 2020 tax returns, since the agency was able to quickly verify eligibility based on income and also determine where to mail or direct deposit the checks.
The agency said it’s sending another 500,000 payments to eligible people who recently filed a tax return but for whom it didn’t previously have information to issue a stimulus check.
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Use Your Smartphone To Cash Your Stimulus Check
With your smartphones camera you have a number of services at your disposal to cash your stimulus check. Each service varies in the fee that they charge and the amount that you can cash. If you are willing to wait to have the check cashed most services waive the fee. However, always make sure you understand the fees and other requirements before you sign up.
This option can be useful for other transactions as well, giving you the ability to make purchases, withdraw money from ATMs or stores and cash other checks.
Direct Deposit Vs Paper Check
The FTB is sending out Golden State Stimulus payments in two ways direct deposit and paper checks sent in the mail. In general, you can expect to get the payment using the same refund option you selected when filing taxes.
Typically, youll receive this payment using the refund option you selected on your tax return.
- Direct deposit: If you selected direct deposit as your refund option on your tax return
- Paper check in the mail:
- If you selected paper check as your refund option on your tax return
- If you received an advanced refund through your tax service provider or paid your tax preparation fees using your refund
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