More Details About The Third Round Of Economic Impact Payments
FS-2021-04, March 2021
The Internal Revenue Service, on behalf of the Treasury Department, worked to quickly begin delivery of the third round of Economic Impact Payments authorized by Congress in the American Rescue Plan Act in March 2021. Here are answers to some common questions about this set of stimulus payments, which differ in some ways from the first two sets of stimulus payments in 2020, referred to as EIP1 and EIP2.
Will The Irs Reload A Prior Pre
Some people who received one or both of their first two stimulus payments on a pre-paid debit card may wonder if the IRS will reload that card with the $1,400 for the latest round of payments. The answer is no, the IRS says.
If the IRS now has bank account information for you, it will send the money via direct deposit. If not, it will either issue a check or a pre-paid debit card, but the latter will come in the form of a new card, the tax agency said.
People should look for a white envelope with the return address “Economic Impact Payment Card” accompanied by a U.S. Treasury Department seal. The card says “Visa” on the front, and the issuing bank, MetaBank, on the back.
Status Of Your Stimulus Check
When you use the Get My Payment tool, you will see one of three messages
Payment Status: A payment has been processed, a payment date is available and payment is to be sent either by direct deposit or mail. Note: mail means you may be issued an EIP Card or a check.
Or Youre eligible, but a payment has not been processed and a payment date is not yet available. It will not show the amount of your 2021 Economic Impact Payment.
Payment Status Not Available: We haven’t yet processed your payment or you’re not eligible for a payment.
Need More Information: Your payment was returned to the IRS because the Postal Service was unable to deliver it. Only people who get this message can use the tool to give us bank account information.
Get My Payment updates once per day, usually overnight and sometimes may be down for maintenance during the early hours of the morning.
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Do I Need To Claim My Stimulus Check On My 2021 Taxes
If you haven’t gotten your $1,400 payment for yourself or your dependents or got less than you qualify for you will need to claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit on your tax return. This is the final opportunity you will have to get your 2021 stimulus money, unless you file an amended 2021 tax return later on.
How Would The Irs Have Gotten My Banking Details For The Third Check
The IRS has several ways to find your banking information:
- You filed a tax return in 2019 or 2020 and received a refund by direct deposit.
- You already filed your tax forms this year and provided the IRS with your banking information.
- You registered your banking information for the first check through the IRS’ Get My Payment online tool.
- You provided bank information through the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool if you don’t typically file taxes.
- From another federal agency that issues benefits to you, such as the Social Security Administration, Veteran Affairs or Railroad Retirement Board.
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President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Package Was Finally Passed By Congress And This Will See The Third Iteration Of Stimulus Payments Issued To Americans
The $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill was signed into law on Thursday 11 March, a day earlier than scheduled, which was President Joe Biden first major piece of legislation to pass through Congress. Within the bill, one heavily opposed by Republican senators, there is an array of measure to support families and businesses until the vaccine roll-out has brought the pandemic under control and the economy can be kickstarted.
As part of the provisions, the controversial $1,400 direct stimulus payments could be issued in just a few days, as the Treasury Department make appropriate arrangements. If you previously used a direct deposit to receive your tax refund, you will likely be one of the first to see your payment hit your bank account. If not, the IRS will send you a paper check or pre-paid debit card via mail, which will clearly mean a longer wait.
Don’t Lose The Irs Letter That Confirms Your Stimulus Payment
If the IRS issues you a stimulus check, it sends a notice by mail to your last known address within 15 days after making the payment to confirm delivery. The letter contains information on when and how the payment was made and how to report it to the IRS if you didn’t receive all the money you’re entitled to. You’ll need to reference this information if you don’t receive your full payment and need to claim your money later. Here’s how to recover the information if you lost or tossed the letter.
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Fill Out Income And Personal Identification Information
STEP 2 E-file your tax forms, requests both required and optional information.
Required:
- Personal verification: The form asks for your 2019 Adjusted Gross Income. If you did NOT file taxes last year, enter 0 in the box. Ignore part B which asks for last years self-selected signature PIN.
- Date
- Electronic signature: Instead of signing your name, your signature is a 5-digit PIN number that you create.
- Date of birth
Note: these fields are required for you and your spouse if you are married filing jointly.
Optional:
- Cell phone number
- Drivers license or state issued ID number, state, issue date, and expiration date leave blank if you dont have one
Additional Information On Economic Impact Payments In The American Rescue Plan Act
Americans eligible for Economic Impact Payments provided in the American Rescue Plan can still receive their payments by filing a 2020 income tax return or, if their income is not high enough to be required to file a full income tax return, by using the IRS Non-filer tool available here. Individuals do not need to have children to sign up for Economic Impact Payments. By filing a 2020 income tax return or using the Non-filer tool, eligible individuals can also claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit for any amount of the first two rounds of Economic Impact Payments they may have missed and to register for monthly Advance Child Tax Credit payments.
The IRS will continue to make Economic Impact Payments on a weekly basis. Ongoing payments will be sent to eligible individuals for whom the IRS previously did not have information to issue a payment but who recently filed an income tax return, as well to people who qualify for “plus-up” payments.
Individuals can check the Get My Payment tool on IRS.gov to see the payment status of these payments. Additional information on Economic Impact Payments is available on IRS.gov.
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Finding The Amounts Of Your First Second And Third Stimulus Checks
To find the amount of stimulus payment youve received, you can:
- Refer to the IRS notices that were mailed to you. IRS Notice 1444shows how much you received from the first stimulus check. IRS Notice 1444-B shows how much you received from the second stimulus check. IRS Notice 1444-C shows how much you received from the third stimulus check.
- Check your bank statements. If you had your payments direct deposited, you can find the amount of your first, second, and third stimulus check using your bank statements. They should be labeled as IRS TREAS 310 and have a code of either TAXEIP1 , TAXEIP2 , or TAXEIP3 .
- Request an account transcript. You can request an account transcript sent electronically or by mail using Get Transcript. You can also call the IRS automated phone transcript service at 800-908-9946 or mail in Form 4506-T to have your transcript be sent by mail.
- Create an account on IRS.gov/account. You can view your stimulus check amounts under the Tax Records tab. If you filed jointly with your spouse, you will only see your half of the stimulus check amounts. Your spouse will need to sign into their own account to see the other half of the stimulus check amounts.
To create an account, you will need:
Third Stimulus Check: How To Claim If I Don’t File Tax Returns
On the IRS non-filers tool page, it explains that if the last time you used the Non-Filers tool to register for an Economic Impact Payment , “you must complete and print a paper 2019 Form 1040 or 1040-SR tax return, write Amended EIP Return at the top, and mail it to the IRS.”
The IRS will use the information they have on file from 2019 or 2020, whichever is the most recent when they get the order to send out the payments. However, there are individuals that will file for the first time in 2020 and those who havent filed in prior years. In the fall, the IRS was trying to locate some 9 million non-filers who were due a stimulus check but hadnt received one yet due to a lack of information. They continue to do this.
How will the American Rescue Plan impact you? Share your story with us:
The White House
If you were due a stimulus check from the previous two rounds or didnt receive the full amount due to you because your economic situation changed in 2020, you can claim those funds through the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 income-tax filing. The filing deadline is 15 April this year, although victims of the winter storms in Texas have an extension until 15 June.
The IRS urges taxpayers to visit IRS.gov – the official IRS website – to protect against scam artists. The IRS has issued a warning about coronavirus-related scams.
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How Is The Third Stimulus Check Calculated
The stimulus plan mandates the treasury to rely on 2019 and 2020 tax returns to calculate how much you could get for the third round of stimulus checks.
Congress approved limits based on adjusted gross income ranges. This means that taxpayers making less than the minimum threshold could get the full stimulus check, while those earning above it get reduced payments until they are fully phased out at higher incomes.
You can find your AGI on IRS form 1040. This is calculated by subtracting deductions like student loan interest, health savings account payments, and contributions to a traditional IRA from your gross income.
By contrast, your gross income is the total amount of money that you made during the tax year, including wages, dividends, capital gains, rental property income and other types of revenue.
Your 2019 taxes had to be filed by July 15, 2020. And your 2020 taxes are due by the extended deadline of May 17. You can read more about when to file your tax returns for the third stimulus check, and other IRS requirements in two tax sections below.
Who Is Eligible For The Third Economic Impact Payment And What Incomes Qualify
Generally, if you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien, you are eligible for the full amount of the third Economic Impact Payment if you are not a dependent of another taxpayer and have a valid Social Security number and your adjusted gross income on their tax return does not exceed:
- $150,000 if married and filing a joint return or if filing as a qualifying widow or widower
- $112,500 if filing as head of household or
- $75,000 for eligible individuals using any other filing statuses, such as single filers and married people filing separate returns.
Payments will be phased out or reduced — above those AGI amounts. This means taxpayers will not receive a third payment if their AGI exceeds:
- $160,000 if married and filing a joint return or if filing as a qualifying widow or widower
- $120,000 if filing as head of household or
- $80,000 for eligible individuals using other filing statuses, such as single filers and married people filing separate returns.
For example, a single person with no dependents and an AGI of $77,500 will normally get a $700 payment . A married couple with two dependents and an AGI of $155,000 will generally get a payment of $2,800 . Filers with incomes of at least $80,000 , $120,000 and $160,000 will get no payment based on the law.
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How Are Married Couples Affected If Only One Spouse Has A Social Security Number
As with EIP2, joint filers where only one spouse has a Social Security number will normally get the third payment. This means that these families will now get a payment covering any family member who has a work-eligible SSN.
For taxpayers who file jointly with their spouse and only one individual has a valid SSN, the spouse with a valid SSN will receive up to a $1,400 third payment and up to $1,400 for each qualifying dependent claimed on the 2020 tax return.
Active Military: If either spouse is an active member of the U.S. Armed Forces at any time during the taxable year, only one spouse needs to have a valid SSN for the couple to receive up to $2,800 for themselves in the third stimulus payment.
Update With Second Stimulus Check Payment Status
The IRS has started paying the recently approved $600/$1200 stimulus check for adults and their child dependents. As expected there are many who are seeing issues, especially non-filers. Their main IRS stimulus payment status tool, Get My Payment for checking stimulus payments has now been updated , but has been hard to to get real time updates and many are especially those expecting dependent checks are seeing ongoing delays with their payment. Note however that the official IRS is still processing stimulus payments and could come separately for adults and dependents.
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Determining Eligibility For The Third Economic Impact Payment
Most eligible people will get the third Economic Impact Payment automatically and won’t need to take additional action. The IRS will use available information to determine eligibility and issue the third payment to eligible people who:
- Filed a 2020 tax return.
- Filed a 2019 tax return if the 2020 return has not been submitted or processed yet.
- Did not file a 2020 or 2019 tax return but registered for the first Economic Impact Payment using the special Non-Filers portal last year.
- Are federal benefit recipients as of December 31, 2020, who do not usually file a tax return and received Social Security and Railroad Retirement Board benefits, Supplemental Security Income and Veteran benefit recipients in 2020. The IRS is working with these agencies to get updated information for 2021 to assist with stimulus payments at a date to be determined. IRS.gov will have more details.
What Does The Stimulus Check Portal Do
The updated “Get My Payment” tool lets you:
- Check the status of your stimulus payment
- Confirm your payment type and
- Get a projected direct deposit or paper check delivery date .
For first-round stimulus payments, you could also use the portal to enter or change your bank account information to have your payment directly deposited into your account. However, that feature isn’t included in the current tool . The IRS already has bank account information for millions of Americans from recent tax returns, tax payments, the original “Get My Payment” tool, the non-filers tool used last year, other federal agencies that regularly send out benefit payments , and federal records of recent payments to or from the government. So, the tax agency is generally limiting direct deposit payments to bank accounts that they already have on file. As a result, you can’t change your bank information using the “Get My Payment” tool.
If your payment isn’t deposited directly into your bank account, then you’ll get either a paper check or a debit card in the mail . You could also receive a payment by mail if your bank rejected a direct deposit. This could happen because the bank information was incorrect or the bank account on file with the IRS has since been closed.
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First And Second Stimulus Check
You will need to file a tax return for Tax Year 2020 . The deadline to file your taxes this year was May 17, 2021. The tax filing extension deadline is October 15, 2021.
If you missed the filing deadline, you can still file your tax return to get your first and second stimulus checks. If you dont owe taxes, there is no penalty for filing late. If you owe taxes, you may be subject to penalties and fines for not filing or not paying taxes. The government may reduce your tax refund to pay for any taxes you owe and other federal and state debts.
To learn more about your options if you think you owe taxes, read Filing Past Due Tax Returns and What to Do if I Owe Taxes but Cant Pay Them.
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.
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