Are There Any Changes To The Federal Student Loan Forbearance Program
Not in this agreement, according to congressional aides. The pause on payments began via a provision in the CARES Act. This month, the Education Department extended it by a month to Jan. 31.
A similar extension seems likely after President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. takes office, given his past support for student loan forgiveness initiatives. Keep an eye on your loan servicers website for updates on how it might handle any uncertainty in January.
Didn’t Get The Full Third Payment Claim The 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit
You may be eligible to claim a 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2021 federal tax return.
Individuals can view the total amount of their third Economic Impact Payments through their individual Online Account. Through March 2022, we’ll also send Letter 6475 to the address we have on file for you confirming the total amount of your third Economic Impact Payment and any plus-up payments you received for tax year 2021.
You will need this information from your online account or your letter to accurately calculate your 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit when you file your 2021 federal tax return in 2022. For married filing joint individuals, each spouse will need to log into their own online account or review their own letter for their half of the total payment. All amounts must be considered if filing jointly.
Using the total amount of the third payment from your online account or Letter 6475 when preparing a tax return can reduce errors and avoid delays in processing while the IRS corrects the tax return.
Tapes From Hollywood To Georgia
Like the little boy haunted by ghosts in the horror movie The Sixth Sense, President Donald Trump sees dead people everywhere. He thinks at least 5,000 of them voted in Georgia during the presidential election and were part of a broader conspiracy that deprived him of a victory in the state.
In that unhinged, extraordinary phone call Saturday with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Timothy L. O’Brien argues Trump is ‘willing to torch democracy to save himself.’
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The Jan 15 Stimulus Check Deadline Is Mostly For The Irs
It has to do with the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 the huge spending bill that includes $900 billion of coronavirus relief.
The text includes a section about the timeline for stimulus checks, referred to as “recovery rebates.” It spells out the deadline pretty clearly, saying that “except as provided in subclause , no refund or credit shall be made or allowed under this subsection after January 15, 2021.”
Basically, the government wanted to get the money in Americans’ pockets fast, so it came up with a deadline.
Stimulus Check Status: How To Use The Irs Tracking Portal To Find Your Check
Every week the IRS sends out batches of checks to those who are eligible. But that doesnt everyone who is eligible has received theirs yet. According to The Washington Post , some checks may not arrive until September.
You can check the status of your stimulus check using a neat tool the IRS developed. When you fill out a short form on the IRS Get My Payment app, you should be able to view the status of your stimulus check if you’re due to get one.
Heres how it works: Go to the IRS Get My Payment app website . Click ‘Get My Payment’ to enter the portal. Click ‘OK’ on the authorized use page after you’ve reviewed the terms. Fill out your Social Security number or Individual Tax ID , your date of birth , your street address and your ZIP code. Click ‘Continue.’
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In March There Was An Initiative To Keep People From Losing Broadband Access Is There Any Update On Assistance For Consumers
In March, the Federal Communications Commission urged broadband providers not to cut off customers for nonpayment. Companies may still be offering some leniency.
But the new bill will also offer up to $50 per month in assistance to tens of millions of people with low incomes, including households with a Pell grant recipient or a child qualifying for free school lunch. Also eligible: Everyone who can document a substantial decline in income because of a job loss, furlough or successful unemployment benefits application.
It will take at least 60 days for regulators to set rules for the benefit, and it will last only as long as the $3.2 billion in allocations does. If you think you might be eligible, start asking your broadband provider about it in January.
M Vaccine Doses Distributed 45m Administered
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had administered 4,563,260 first doses of covid-19 vaccines in the country as of Monday morning and distributed 15,418,500 doses.
The tally of vaccine doses distributed and the number of people who received the first dose are for both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines as of 9:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, the agency said.
According to the tally posted on 2 January, the agency had administered 4,225,756 first doses of the vaccines and distributed 13,071,925 doses.
A total of 2,533,925 vaccine doses were distributed for use in long-term care facilities and 365,294 people in the facilities got their first dose, the agency said.
The agency also reported 20,558,489 cases of the coronavirus, an increase of 212,117 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,418 to 350,664.
The CDC reported its tally of cases as of 4 p.m. ET on 3 January versus its previous report a day earlier.
The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.
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Monthly $2000 Stimulus Check: Is It Possible
Forbes reports that a bill that proposes monthly payments of $2,000 to eligible taxpayers is “gaining steam” with some congressional supporters. The House bill was put forth by Rep. Time Ryan and Rep. Ro Khanna .
Senator Kamala Harris and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who were both 2020 presidential candidates, have thrown their support behind a $2,000 a month stimulus check package, with the idea that such checks would be avoidable to anyone earning up to $120,000 per annum.
Harris introduced the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act, alongside Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Ed Markey. Under that scheme, the monthly checks would not only apply for individuals, but also married couples would be able to get $4,000 per month and a further $2,000 per dependent would be made available, up to a maximum of three dependents. And the payments would be available to all US residents, regardless of whether they have a Social Security number or file taxes.
The government should be here for the people in a moment of crisis, said Harris. People should be able to count on their government to see them and to create a safety net for them, so that these people dont fall into povertyor further into povertyduring the course of this pandemic.
And it would appear that getting the HEROES Act through the Senate would the first hurdle to jump before other stimulus check plans can be properly proposed, let alone brought into effect.
Stimulus Check Update: New Mexicans To Receive More Payments Next Week
Residents of New Mexico will start receiving their newest round of tax rebate checks as early as next week in a state effort to offset the impact of rising U.S. prices.
The state’s Legislature and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham approved rounds of rebates and economic relief this year, according to the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department. State residents have received stimulus payments in May and June, but this new round will be different from those that came before in that the tax rebates are subject to a certain income threshold, Albuquerque’s KRQE reported.
Inflation hit a 40-year high in May, which has put major pressure on President Joe Biden and state leaders and legislators to take action to offset the rising costs. Americans have been particularly hit hard in the wallet when paying for gas, food and travel.
The New Mexico tax department’s information page specifies that married couples filing joint returns, heads of household and surviving spouses are eligible to receive a $500 income tax rebate in July, but they must have incomes under $150,000. Single filers and married individuals who filed separately from their spouses are eligible to receive $250 rebate checks, but they must have incomes under $75,000.
Qualifying taxpayers who have filed a 2021 Personal Income Tax return will be sent the rebates automatically, without having to fill out an application.
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Are Adult Dependents Eligible For A Payment
No. Only dependent children who are under 17 years old are eligible for an additional $600 stimulus payment, which goes to the taxpayer who claimed them on their 2019 tax return.
Some stimulus proposals have included adult dependents, including approximately five million 17- and 18-year-olds, four million college students aged 19-23 and five million adult dependents like elderly parents. Most recently, Bidenâs American Rescue Plan includes $1,400 payments for adult dependents.
Paper Check Recipients Can Cash Payment Using Venmo
People who receive their second stimulus check in paper form can send their payment to their bank accounts for free using the Venmo app. The mobile payment service says it is waiving the fees usually charged as part of its ‘Cash a Check’ feature“for a limited time”.
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If I Owe Back Child Support Will I Still Get A Payment
Yes. If you owe back child support, your stimulus payment cannot be garnished to pay that debt. The same is true if you owe federal or state debts: your stimulus payment cannot be garnished. Your payment wonât be levied by the IRS, either.
This is different from the CARES Act, which specified that if you owed back child support, your stimulus payment would be garnished.
Is My Second Stimulus Check Taxable
The IRS does not consider stimulus checks taxable income. This means that you do not have to report them on your tax return or pay income taxes on either check.
Eligible recipients who did not get the first or second stimulus checks can claim a recovery rebate credit to increase their tax refund or lower their tax liability. So if you are expecting to get money back on your 2020 tax return, your refund could get a big boost depending on how much stimulus money the government owes you.
And comparatively, if you expect to owe taxes on your 2020 return, then you can use your recovery rebate credit to offset your tax bill and get a refund for the remaining amount.
Many taxpayers this year are looking to their tax refunds to get extra money for their finances. For reference, the average tax refund in 2020 was more than $2,500. The IRS expects over 150 million tax returns to be filed this year.
The 2021 tax season will begin on February 12. And taxpayers will need to file their 2020 returns by April 15.
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Is There A Deadline To Get My Second Stimulus Check
All second stimulus checks were issued by January 15, 2021. If you didnt get a second stimulus check by then , you can claim your second stimulus check as the Recovery Rebate Tax Credit on your 2020 tax return or use GetCTC.org if you dont have a filing requirement.
If youre required to file taxes:
The deadline to file your 2020 tax return was May 17, 2021. The tax filing extension deadline is October 15, 2021. Many tax filing software programs close after this date. If you can find an online tax filing program that is still accepting 2020 tax returns, you can file a tax return to get your stimulus checks even though the deadline has passed.
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.
If youre not required to file taxes:
The deadline to use GetCTC.org is November 15, 2021. You can get the Recovery Rebate Credit using GetCTC.org, a simplified tax filing portal for non-filers. GetCTC is an IRS-approved service created by Code for America in partnership with the White House and U.S. Department of Treasury. You can use the portal even if youre not signing up for the Child Tax Credit advance payments.
No Vote For The Cash Act In The Senate
However, once the CASH Act hit the Senate floor, it quickly became apparent that it was stuck in the mud. As mentioned, Democratic senators made repeated requests this week for a vote on the bill. But, each time, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell or one of his Republican colleagues blocked the request. The CASH Act couldn’t get a vote on the Senate floor without Sen. McConnell’s consent, and Democrats were not able to change the majority leader’s mind and persuade him to allow the bill to move forward. On Wednesday, Sen. McConnell said the bill “has no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate.” That statement signaled Sen. McConnell’s reluctance to reverse course.
For Sen. McConnell and other Republicans opposing the bill, one of the primary reasons given for blocking a vote on the CASH Act was that the bill doesn’t target people in need. For example, on Thursday, Sen. McConnell said the bill would “send thousands of dollars to people who don’t need the help.” He further noted that “a family of five where the parents earn $250,000 and have not seen any income loss this past year” would receive a $5,000 stimulus check under the CASH Act. This, he said, was “socialism for rich people.” Sen. Thune described the bill as “a shotgun approach where a rifle makes a lot more sense.”
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Punting On State And Local Aid
The latest deal is based on a $908 billion proposal from a bipartisan coalition of senators. But because that package included $160 billion in aid for struggling state and local governments, which many Republicans objected to, as well as a liability shield for businesses, which many Democrats opposed, the group split the proposal into two bills essentially carving out the controversial issues into a smaller, separate package that can be argued over at another time.
Holding off on $160 billion in funding for state and local governments was key to finding support for another round of stimulus payments, according to analysts at Raymond James. The $600 per-person checks will cost about $166 billion, according to the summary released by lawmakers.
Amount And Status Of Your Third Payment
You can no longer use the Get My Payment application to check your payment status.
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 your payment. Were also sending Letter 6475 through March 2022 confirming the total amount of the third Economic Impact Payment and any plus-up payments you were issued for tax year 2021.
You can also securely access your individual tax information with an IRS online account to view your total Economic Impact Payment amounts under the 2021 tax year tab. You will need the total of the third payment and any plus-up payments you received to accurately calculate the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit when you file your 2021 federal tax return in 2022.
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Will The Legislation Pass
Whether Americans will get the limited relief this legislation provides or not depends on whether Democrats can rally their party behind the proposed bill.
There are 50 senators who typically vote with the Democrats, which means most legislation is unable to advance because Republicans can filibuster it and 60 votes are needed to overcome this procedural maneuver.
Democrats can use a different technique called reconciliation to get certain bills passed with a simple majority rather than with a filibuster proof majority. However, this requires 51 votes — so that means all 50 senators must be on board and Vice President Kamala Harris must break the tie to allow the bill to move forward. However, two moderate senators — Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema — have expressed reluctance in passing large-scale legislation that other members of their party have been pushing for.
Manchin has announced he is on board with this new proposal, which is a major step forward. If the other Democrats can maintain unity, there’s a very real chance the Inflation Reduction Act will become law.
A Majority Of Americans Support $2000 Stimulus Checks
Across the political spectrum there is wide support for further $2000 direct stimulus payments for every American for the duration of the pandemic according to polling by Data for Progress. Another study released by Data for Progress over the weekend shows that Americans blame the Republican leaders for failure to pass the measure.
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