Biden Cancelled $15 Billion Of Student Debt For Borrowers But You Can Still Apply Now
2. You havent filed a federal tax return in 2018 or 2019
To qualify for a stimulus check, you must have filed a 2018 or 2019 federal tax return and earned below a certain adjusted gross income threshold. There is no minimum adjusted gross income. However, the maximum adjusted gross income is $99,000 for individuals and $198,000 for married/joint filers. There are exceptions for the tax filing requirement. For example, if you receive Social Security retirement, disability , survivor benefits or Railroad Retirement benefits, youll automatically receive a stimulus check and do not need to file a tax return. Another exception: your level of income doesnt require you to file a federal tax return. If you earned below the income threshold that is required to file a federal tax return, for example, you can update your information in the Non-Filers section of the IRS website and receive a stimulus check.
3. You filed a federal tax return, but your tax return has not been processed.
If you recently filed a tax return, the IRS may have your tax return. However, the IRS may not have processed your tax return. This includes your 2018 or 2019 federal tax return, depending when you filed. Unfortunately, until the IRS processes your tax return, you wont be able to check your status on the Get My Payment online portal.
4. You didnt provide your direct deposit information to the IRS
7. You receive Social Security or other benefits .
8. Your identity couldnt be verified.
Next Steps
Stimulus Check: What Payment Status Not Available Really Means
So, what does Payment Status Not Available really mean?
Heres what you need to know and what to do about it.
Stimulus Check
When it comes to stimulus checks, most people understandably want their stimulus check now. The IRS has sent stimulus checks via direct deposit to approximately 80 million Americans. If youre eligible, you could receive up to $1,200 and $500 for each dependent. The stimulus check, or Economic Impact Payment, is part of the $2.2 trillion stimulus package intended to help Americans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What if you didnt get your stimulus check? The IRS created a new online portal called Get My Payment, which allows you to track the status of your payment and update your direct deposit information. However, many Americans have been baffled, frustrated and upset by what came next. Instead of learning the status of their stimulus check, they were greeted unceremoniously with this message: Payment Status Not Available. Say what?
Here are some popular reasons why you received the Payment Status Not Available message:
1. You may not qualify for a stimulus check
What? Yes, its possible you may not qualify for a stimulus check. You may not have a Social Security number, are not a U.S. citizen or resident, or you earned too much income in 2018 or 2019. If this is a possibility, thats why you received the message. Oh, none of those things apply to you? Ok, lets move to the next reason.
Didn’t Receive A Direct Deposit
The IRS said there could be a variety of reasons someone might not have received a second stimulus check yet. It includes the following:
If you checked the Get My Payment tool on or after January 5 then:
- If the online tool reflects a direct deposit date and partial account information, then your payment is deposited there.
- If it shows a date your payment was mailed, it may take up to 3 4 weeks for you to receive the payment. Watch your mail carefully for a check or debit card. Don’t throw the debit card out by mistake!
- If the online tool shows “Payment Status #2 Not Available,” then you will not receive a second Economic Impact Payment in the mail or by direct deposit and instead you need to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 Tax Return, according to the IRS.
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My Stimulus Payment Was Too High
Some individuals whose income increased too much in 2019 were not eligible for a full stimulus payment, but they got one anyway since the IRS based the payment on their 2018 taxes. Those individuals will not have to pay back the payment.
In other cases, families were paid an extra $500 or $600 for children who were 17 or older . This could happen if the IRS took the number of children who qualified for the child tax credit in 2018 without updating children’s ages for 2019. But in other cases, it looks like the IRS took the number of dependents from a family’s 2018 tax return, without regard to their age. The IRS has said that those who received such overpayments will not have to pay them back.
You Might Not Get Your Payment By Jan 15
Use the IRS Get My Payment tool to track the status of your payment. If you receive a Payment Status #2 Not Available notice, you should prepare for a longer wait: your payment will likely not be processed by Jan. 15.
Instead, youll need to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 tax returns. If you end up owing money on your 2020 taxes, it will reduce the amount you owe, Cagan says. If you get a refund, youll get a bigger refund. If you have zero income, youll just get the full amount back.
There are several reasons why your payment may not arrive, but here are a few common issues:
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Why Is The Status Showing Up
If you see the Payment Status Not Available when you log in, one of three things happened. First, as we mentioned, your information just might not be entered yet. IRS officials said in a Sunday statement that again, much like the Virginia vaccine system, all information should be loaded within the week. If you got that notification when logging in, just try it again on Tuesday or Wednesday. Theres a much better chance your data will be updated by then.
If thats not the problem, then we go to issue #2. Simply put, the IRS might not know where to send the check. The first round of checks goes out to anyone who used direct deposit on their latest tax return. It also goes out automatically to people who receive Social Security, survivor or disability benefits, as well as Veterans Affairs benefits.
If you havent filed this years tax return yet, thats no problem. Theyll just use the latest one on file. But if you didnt sign up for direct deposit, that means a check will go out in the mail. To do that, they first have to verify your mailing address. In some cases, that hasnt happened yet, so you get the not available status.
Why Is My Payment Status Not Available On The Irs Website
According to the IRS website, you may have received the Payment Status Not Available for these reasons: Your payment hasnt been processed yet. The IRS doesnt have enough information to issue you a payment. You arent eligible for a payment. The IRS are going based off your latest tax return, either the 2019 return or the 2020 return.
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What To Do If You’re Still Waiting For A Stimulus Check
The IRS has created a specific tax credit for eligible taxpayers who didn’t get the stimulus money that was owed to them according to legislation that passed in 2020 . It’s called the Recovery Rebate Credit. You’ll find it on line 30 of your 2020 tax return.
For the fastest processing, the IRS encourages citizens to file 2020 tax returns electronically. The agency has not yet announced when you can start filing 2020 tax returns. As the situation unfolds, more information may become available.
Can You Use The Portal If You Didn’t File A Tax Return
You couldn’t use the “Get My Payment” tool to track the status of your first stimulus check if you didn’t file a 2018 or 2019 federal income tax return. However, there was another online tool that non-filers could use to give the IRS with the information it needed to process a payment.
The non-filers tool wasn’t used for second stimulus checks, though. Instead, if you didn’t file a 2019 tax return, and you didn’t use the non-filers tool to get your first-round payment, then you have to wait to claim your second stimulus check money as a Recovery Rebate credit on your 2020 return.
The IRS is not using the non-filers tool for third-round stimulus checks, either. As a result, if you don’t file a 2019 or 2020 tax return, you’ll have to claim any money you’re owed as a Recovery Rebate credit on your 2021 return, which you won’t file until next year. However, you can avoid having to wait until next year by filing a 2020 return before the May 17, 2021, deadline.
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Third Economic Impact Payment Information Available On Get My Payment
You can now check the status of your Third Economic Impact Payment or plus-up payment with the Get My Payment tool.
All first and second Economic Impact Payments have been sent and will no longer appear in Get My Payment. If you didnt get a first or second payment or got less than the full amounts, you may qualify for the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return even if you dont normally file.
The following questions are regarding the Get My Payment application.
On this page…
Why can’t I access Get My Payment?
To use Get My Payment, you must first verify your identity by answering security questions.
If your answers dont match our records multiple times, youll be locked out of Get My Payment for 24 hours for security reasons. If you cant verify your identity, you wont be able to use Get My Payment. Dont contact the IRS for assistance with a lockout IRS assistors cant unlock your account. For more information, see Error Messages/Lockouts.
If you cant get your payment status because youve been locked out, you must wait 24 hours and try again.
If you verified your identity and received Payment Status Not Available, this means either we have not processed your payment yet, we do not have enough information to issue you a payment or you are not eligible for a payment.
I filed jointly with my spouse. Does it matter whose information I use for Get My Payment?
Yes, you can use Get My Payment.
Amount And Status Of Your Payment
To find the amount of the third payment, create or view your online account or refer to IRS Notice 1444-C, which we mailed after sending the payment.
If you are sent a plus-up Economic Impact Payment after your 2020 tax return is processed:
- The amount of your initial third payment will no longer show in your online account. You will only see the amount of your plus-up payment.
- The status of your initial third payment will no longer show in Get My Payment. You will only see the status of your plus-up payment.
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Check The Get My Payment Tool
The IRS website has been uploading data for your third stimulus payment into a tool on its website called Get My Payment. If your information has been updated, you’ll be able to see the date you can expect to receive your stimulus payment, or the date it was deposited or mailed. You should also be able to see whether your money was direct deposited or whether you’ll be receiving the payment by mail.
Many people are seeing a message that says either the IRS doesn’t have enough information yet or you aren’t eligible for the payment. This message doesn’t necessarily mean you aren’t eligible for the payment. This information may be updated this coming weekend.
Here are some of the issues people are seeing, either with their actual deposit or with the Get My Payment tool.
How To Claim The Recovery Rebate Credit
If you did not receive your first or second stimulus payment, or if it was for the wrong amount, you’ll need to file a tax return for the 2020 tax year . You’ll file Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR . You’ll need your Notice 1444, Your Economic Impact Payment from the IRS when you file. You should have gotten your first Notice 1444 sometime last spring or summer, and you should have gotten your second one in February 2021. You’ll need the amount of the payment in the letter when you file your tax return in 2021.
If you don’t receive your third stimulus payment, or if it was for the wrong amount, you’ll need to file a tax return for the 2021 tax year . You’ll file Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR . You’ll need your Notice 1444, Your Economic Impact Payment from the IRS when you file. You’ll need the amount of the payment in the letter when you file your tax return in 2021.
You can take the Recovery Rebate Credit for any rebate amount that is more than the economic impact payment that you received by completing line 30 of Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR. The instructions for Form 1040 and Form 1040-SR include a worksheet you can use to calculate the amount of the credit you are eligible for.
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I Had A Problem With The First Or Second Payment
Some individuals had too much income in 2019 to qualify for the first or second stimulus payment , but their income decreased enough in 2020 for them to qualify. If you fall into this category, you can file a tax return for your 2020 taxes and you’ll receive a recovery rebate credit as part of your refund .
In other cases, families received stimulus payments by direct deposit but the IRS neglected to add money for one or more of their children. Sometimes there didn’t seem to be a reason for this . For other families, it seems the IRS did not update the number of children that taxpayers have, even for families who claimed new children on their 2019 tax returns. You’ll be able to claim the rest of the stimulus payment when you file your next tax return.
You Didn’t File A Recent Tax Return
The IRS is pushing back the federal tax filing deadline by one month to May 17, according to CNBC. If you haven’t filed your 2020 return yet, the IRS will use your 2019 information to calculate your stimulus unless you haven’t filed a return for that year, either.
This could be an issue for people who aren’t required to file a tax return. The agency will automatically send checks to those who used the nonfilers tool last year and to recipients of federal benefits such as Social Security.
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My Stimulus Payment Went To The Wrong Bank Account
If the Get My Payment tool tells you your check will be direct-deposited, it will also provide the last four digits of the number of the bank account into which your stimulus payment will be deposited. For the initial checks, some individuals saw that their deposit was going to an old bank account, or they even saw bank account numbers that they didn’t recognize. Here’s what to do:
- If the tool says that your payment was deposited into your bank account but you haven’t seen it yet, your bank may still be processing it.
- You won’t necessarily get the third check direct deposited, even if the first or second one was direct deposited.
- If your third stimulus payment is sent to a closed bank account, the bank is required to transfer the money back to the IRS. The IRS will not redeposit it to you or mail you a paper check. Instead, you will have to file your 2021 tax return to claim your “Recovery Rebate Credit.” See below for instructions on claiming the rebate on your tax return.
- If H& R Block submitted your last tax return and you signed up for a “refund transfer,” the IRS might deposit your stimulus payment with H& R Block . H& R Block should transfer the money to your bank account within 24 hours.
- Those who submitted their last tax return with Turbo Tax should receive their payments in the same bank accounts through which they received their tax refunds.
How To Stretch Your Money Until The Spring
While many Americans might have to wait until the spring to get their tax refunds including the stimulus rebate, there could be additional federal help on the horizon.
President-elect Joe Biden made campaign promises to enact sweeping coronavirus relief measures, and Democrats have spoken optimistically about the possibility of $2,000 direct payments now that they’ve regained control of the Senate.
But some people need money immediately to help with everyday expenses. While it might seem like overly simplistic advice, it’s really important to review what resources you have at your immediate disposal to shore up your finances. That might include asking a friend or family member for support, doing research into forbearance programs for any loans, credit cards or mortgages, and/or seeking out ways to make some extra cash quickly.
For consumers with good credit, consider opening a 0% APR credit card so you can pay for essentials while not racking up interest charges. Depending on your expenses, you might be able to pay off the balance with your tax refunds before the intro period ends.
The U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card offers an introductory 0% interest for the first 20 billing cycles on both balance transfers and new purchases . That’s a long grace period for making the purchases you need now then paying them back later.
Note that balance transfer credit cards require good to excellent credit to qualify.
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