H& r Block Customers: Unsure Where Your Stimulus Money Is Were Here To Help
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Jan. 04, 2021 — Today, millions of Americans will receive a second stimulus payment as the IRS set January 4 as the official payment date of all direct deposits for stimulus money. The IRS has shared that most people will receive their second stimulus payment as a direct deposit. However, if not, people will receive their second stimulus payment in the mail as either a check or U.S. Treasury debit card, likely by the end of January.
In addition, the IRS Get My Payment website will go live soon, allowing people to look up where their second stimulus payment has been sent. As people search for answers about their second stimulus payment, H& R Block has tools and live expert help to assist its customers.
The second stimulus payment will provide much-needed relief to people, said Tony Bowen, H& R Block Chief Financial Officer. We have automated tools and experts standing by ready to help our customers.
Information to help track a stimulus check includes:
To estimate a second stimulus payment, visit hrblock.com/stimulus and for additional second stimulus details and frequently asked questions visit the H& R Block Coronavirus Resource Hub at hrblock.com/tax-center/coronavirus-tax-impact.
For further information
If You See Payment Went To A Different Account Heres Why
Those who opted into receiving tax refund payments on a debit card are more likely to see an account number they dont recognize on the IRS Get My Payment portal, according to the IRS.
But dont worry we have sent these payments on to the method you chose for Refund Transfer: direct deposit, check or Emerald Card, H& R Block said Monday night. The money should be there by the end of the day.
A spokesperson for H& R Block told IndyStar the company has already processed stimulus payments. They suggested that customers who have not yet received a payment call 800-HRBLOCK or tweet to on Twitter.
But dont worry we have sent these payments on to the method you chose for Refund Transfer: direct deposit, check or Emerald Card. The money should be there by the end of the day.
H& R Block
TurboTax users are experiencing similar issues. However, one user on Twitter said she avoided the issue by setting up her bank account to receive the tax refund instead of having TurboTax receiving it.
I prepared mine with TurboTax multiple years and received both stimulus payments in my bank account, because I set up my bank account to receive my tax refund instead of having Turbo Tax receiving it. A lot of people gonna learn
Heres an email from Greg Johnson, executive vice president and general manager of TurboTax, sent to TurboTax customers around 10 p.m. Wednesday night:
I was just trying to make things easy on myself by using H& R Block last year but here we are.
Stimulus Checks: Marriages And Divorce
Q. We got married in 2020 how does that affect the amount we will get?A. Filing as jointly married versus separate for 2020 wont change the total maximum stimulus amount and you wont have to repay any stimulus you already received. However, now that youre married, you should determine whether it makes more sense to file jointly or separately, and its possible that one spouse with a higher income could affect eligibility for the recovery rebate credit.
For example, lets say you and your spouse had AGI amounts of $35,000 and $105,000 respectively. As single filers, youd receive the full stimulus payment because your AGI of $35,000 is below the threshold, but your spouses AGI of $105,000 would be over the limit and wouldnt qualify for a stimulus payment. However, if you file jointly for 2020, your combined AGI of $140,000 is below the threshold for joint filers, so you could claim your spouses portion as the recovery rebate credit.
Those who get married in 2021 will have a similar situation when they file their 2021 return.
Q. How does a recent divorce affect my stimulus check?A. What if you were married and filed jointly on your tax return and have since become separated or divorced? If the IRS issued a payment based on a jointly filed return, you will allocate half of each payment to each spouse when you calculate your credit on your single status returns.
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Payments To Closed Accounts Will Be Reissued
According to the IRS, the stimulus payments will be deposited into the bank account where a taxpayer’s last tax refund was deposited. In some cases, the IRS has not processed 2020 returns yet, meaning it will still be deposited into the account the 2019 refund was sent to. Others will receive their stimulus payment by check.
Treasury Department and IRS officials have said that they had worked to correct the account mix-up problem, and that there would be a way for any taxpayers experiencing the issue to fix it.
In response to this article, an IRS spokesperson told CNBC Make It that the agency believes “the volume of payments going to closed accounts will be significantly less than any previous round of Economic Impact Payments.”
Any payments sent to closed accounts will be returned to the IRS and reissued in less than two weeks, the spokesperson said. Some have already been reissued. The Get My Payment tool will show the updated information when it’s available, and taxpayers will not have to take any action themselves.
“We are working hard to minimize the burden on taxpayers wherever possible during this extraordinary time,” the IRS spokesperson said. “We have been working around the clock on the stimulus payments and the filing season.”
Question: I Filed My 2019 Tax Return With H& r Block Or Turbotax Where’s My Stimulus Check
Answer: It might be delayed several days or weeks, but you’ll still get a second stimulus check if you qualify.
First, find out the status of your payment using the “Get My Payment” tool on the IRS website. You need your Social Security number, birth date, street address, and zip code. It could take a while to load.
The tool will show the status of your first and second payments it updates once a day. The second payment is the one just authorized by Congress and the president over the holidays. It’s worth up to $600 per individual and $1,200 per couple, and income limits apply. The IRS is sending out most payments via direct deposit, but will also mail paper checks and debit cards.
If you’re getting a direct deposit, the tool will show the date of the deposit and the last four digits of the bank account number. Or you might see the date a check or debit card was mailed to you . Alternatively, you might see a “not available” message.
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TurboTax and H& R Block customers are reportedly struggling to get their stimulus checks once again but officials say the problems are less widespread this time around.
Dozens of people who filed tax returns through the companies have had their $1,400 coronavirus relief payments sent to the wrong accounts, according to CNBC.
A similar glitch plagued 13 million taxpayers in January, when the Internal Revenue Service initially sent their $600 checks to pass-through bank accounts that tax-prep companies set up to receive the customers previous tax refunds.
The IRS says it worked with the tax industry to fix the glitch and ran tests to make sure the latest checks would land in the right place.
While some money can be sent to closed accounts in any payment process, the IRS believes the volume of payments going to closed accounts will be significantly less than any previous round of Economic Impact Payments, the agency said in a statement.
But many TurboTax customers told CNBC that their money was once again dropped in old pass-through accounts, while others said their checks went to accounts they used to use but had closed.
Several customers aired similar complaints on Twitter, saying their checks had been directed to incorrect accounts even though theyd tried to update their banking information.
Who Receives A Stimulus Check Payment
If you fall within the Adjusted Gross Income thresholds shown below and have a Social Security number, you are eligible for each economic impact payment. Those who do not qualify for payments include non-resident aliens, dependents, and estates/trusts.
The amount of payment or credit you qualify for depends on your Adjusted gross income and the number of qualified children with a Social Security Number or Adoption Tax Identification Number you can claim.
For 2020, youll qualify for up to $1,800 in credits for yourself and qualified dependents can increase the amount youre eligible to get by up to $1,100 per qualified dependent . Unfortunately, adult dependents didnt qualify for the first and second stimulus payments.
For 2021, youll qualify for $1,400 in advance credits for yourself and qualified dependents will increase the taxpayers EIP by $1,400 so far. However, adult dependents do qualify the taxpayer to receive additional amounts on the third check.
You can see a detailed breakout of the income limits here:
- Estimate your third stimulus amount with H& R Blocks Stimulus Check Calculator
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Turbotax Payments Were Delayed But Now Theyre On The Way
TurboTax users are experiencing similar issues. However, one user on Twitter said she avoided the issue by setting up her bank account to receive the tax refund instead of having TurboTax receiving it.
According to TurboTax, If you selected a refund transfer or a debit card when you filed your taxes and a stimulus payment is sent from the IRS to that account, you will receive your stimulus payment without delay or fees into the account you received your tax refund.
Johnson sent out an email to TurboTax customers on Wednesday night saying he expects the issue to be corrected within days after the IRS sent millions of payments to the wrong bank accounts.
Around 1:30 a.m. Friday, Johnson sent this follow up email to its customers:
Great news, your stimulus payment is on the way! We are happy to share that stimulus payments will begin to be deposited starting January 8th. We expect most payments to be available that day, but your bank could take a few business days to process. Your payment will be deposited into the same bank account that you received your 2019 tax refund. We have been working tirelessly with the Treasury and IRS to get your stimulus payment to you. We know how important these funds are for so many Americans and we regret that an IRS error caused a delay in you receiving your stimulus payment.
Other taxpayers took to Twitter earlier this week to express their frustrations with the way the IRS, H& R Block and TurboTax are handling stimulus check payments.
Stimulus Payment Deposited Into Bank Account You Dont Recognize Heres What H& r Block Is Saying
Many H& R Block customers have been raising concerns after the Get My Payment tool on the IRS website shows that their stimulus payment was deposited into a bank account they dont recognize.
According to the company, H& R Block customers who used the Refund Transfer option for their 2019 income tax returns could see the stimulus payment sent to a temporary account, one with an account number the customer does not recognize.
The company says it has addressed the problem and the check will be directed to the method of payment the customer chose.
H& R Block sent out a series of tweets explaining the situation:
H& R Block understands stimulus checks are vitally important for millions of Americans. The IRS determines where second stimulus payments were sent, and in some cases, money was sent to a different account than the first stimulus payment last spring.
We processed millions of stimulus payments to customers bank accounts and onto our Emerald Prepaid Mastercard® yesterday, and all direct deposits are on their way.
If the IRS Get My Payment website displays an account number a customer doesnt recognize, H& R Block is ready to help with additional information at 800-HRBLOCK and 1-866-353-1266 for Emerald Card.
H& R Block understands stimulus checks are vitally important for millions of Americans. The IRS determines where second stimulus payments were sent, and in some cases, money was sent to a different account than the first stimulus payment last spring.
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TurboTax and H& R Block customers are voicing their anger after learning that two tax-preparation companies sent their stimulus payments to the wrong accounts.
The news comes after TurboTax announced on Twitter that it had worked with the Internal Revenue Service to ensure the agency had the correct bank account information to distribute the checks. The company also told customers that the payment would be based on information from their latest tax return and that the money would go directly to the bank account or address that the IRS had on file.
In a press release, H& R Block similarly said it understood how important coronavirus relief benefits, including third stimulus payments, are to millions of American households and small business owners, providing information on when customers should expect their money.
Still, many customers said they havent seen the payments in their accounts. Longtime TurboTax customer Keri Behling told CNBC that she checked the status of her payment on the IRSs Get My Payment tool but saw that the funds had been deposited in the wrong bank account. Behling said she had the same issue with her second stimulus payment.
I sat on hold with the IRS for over an hour, Behling said, adding that TurboTax had told her that there was nothing it could do to help her. The person who finally answered placed me on hold and it brought me back to a recording that said my call could not be completed.
Stimulus Checks: Recently Deceased
Q. I received a stimulus check for a deceased relative. What do I do?A. It depends when your loved one passed. For the first and second payments, individuals who died before January 1, 2020 are not eligible for payments. Individuals who died in 2020 are not eligible for the third stimulus check while anyone who died after December 31, 2020 may be eligible for the recovery rebate credit on their 2021 tax return.
During 2020, the IRS asked for stimulus checks/payments sent to ineligible deceased persons be returned. If the payment was made to joint filers, then youd only need to return the decedents portion. The IRS outlines instructions for how to return the payment on their website.
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Customers Compare Their Stimulus Check Frustration To Toxic Relationships
With social media these days, theres no way to hide a major company mess-up. Both TurboTax and H& R Block are quickly realizing that as unhappy customers take to Twitter to voice their stimulus check complaints. Several customers are comparing their interactions with the companies to toxic romantic relationships. They are ready to break up for good.
One customer wrote, Thanks for sending my stimulus check to the wrong account! I updated my bank info for the second check, as requested. You even sent me a nice little email telling me not to worry. You sent my updated bank info to theIRSfor this 3rd one. This is the most toxic relationship Ive had.
Thanks for sending my stimulus to the wrong account! I updated my bank info for the second check, as requested. You even sent me a nice little email telling me not to worry, you sent my updated bank info to the IRS for this 3rd one. This is the most toxic relationship Ive had.
What Happens If It’s Showing The Wrong Bank Account Number
The information taxpayers see in the Get My Payment tool, including account numbers and potential deposit dates, may not display the correct account number since the IRS is working through updates, the agency said Friday.
For those taxpayers who checked Get My Payment and received a response indicating a direct deposit was to be sent to an account they do not recognize, the IRS advises them to continue to monitor their bank accounts for deposits,” the agency added.
H& R Block customers who had their tax refunds deposited into their bank accounts should have their stimulus checks deposited into those accounts, the company said. But customers who used the tax preparers Refund Transfer option for their 2019 tax returns may have had their money sent to a temporary account.
Refund transfer accounts are often created on behalf of taxpayers who want preparation fees taken out of refunds so they dont have to pay preparers upfront. That could be why some customers are seeing the wrong account numbers, experts say.
If you took a Refund Transfer, it may be reflecting that account number. Check your 2019 return to confirm, H& R Block said in a statement. But dont worry we have sent these payments on to the method you chose for Refund Transfer: direct deposit, check, or Emerald Card. The money should be there by the end of the day.
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Who Receives A Stimulus Check/payment
If you fall within the Adjusted Gross Income thresholds shown below and have a Social Security number, you are eligible for both stimulus check/payment. Those who do not qualify for payments include non-resident aliens, dependents, and estates/trusts.
The amount you qualify for depends on your AGI and the number of qualified children with a Social Security Number or Adoption Tax Identification Number you can claim. Qualified children under 17 can increase the amount youre eligible to get by $600 per child for the second stimulus . Unfortunately, you cannot claim adult dependents to get additional money.
You can see a detailed breakout of the income limits here:
- Or, you can estimate your own second payment amount with H& R Blocks Stimulus Check Calculator