Stimulus Checks Can Be Helpful If You Get Them Technical Glitches Still Abound
There are a whole host of other reasons why you might not have received your stimulus check yet. The tools that the IRS is giving us in order to make the process simpler arent always working either due to high volume, data inaccuracies or because there are glitches.
The #IRS Get My Payment tool is operating at record volumes. So far, 9.8M people got an Economic Impact Payment status and 1.6M provided direct deposit info. In some situations, the app responds: Status Not Available. Learn what this means at
IRS
Your best bet if youre getting errors on the site is to keep trying and look for guidance from the IRS on next steps.
While we cant control a lot of those issues, you can make sure that youre informed, and that you know what youre eligible to receive.
Make sure to head on over to all of our stimulus check content, and read up on all the details.
Confirm youre eligible and make sure there isnt some other reason why youre not getting a check.
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.
Why Haven’t I Received A Stimulus Check
Some of you — estimated to number as many 30 to 35 million — are wondering, “Where is my stimulus check?”
It’s a reasonable question during anxious times. After all, 159 million stimulus checks have already been sent to individuals and families throughout the U.S. The financial relief is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which was designed to add fuel to a lackluster economy that has been battered by the coronavirus and quarantines. But if you’re one of the remaining 35 million eligible Americans who have not yet received a stimulus check, you may naturally be wondering where your money is.
There are a number of scenarios that you may want to consider or look into.
You Aren’t Getting a Stimulus Check
Not every American is getting one. According to the IRS, you won’t receive a stimulus check if you don’t have any qualifying children and your adjusted gross income is higher than:
— $198,000 if your filing status was married filing jointly.
— $136,500 for head of household.
— $99,000 for all eligible individuals.
There are other scenarios, too, in which you may not be eligible for a stimulus check. For instance, if you are, say, a 19-year-old college student, and your parents claim you as a dependent on their tax return, you won’t receive a check. If you don’t have a Social Security number that’s valid for employment, that could eliminate you from contention for a check. If you’re currently in jail, you won’t get a stimulus payment.
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Why Would My Tax Refund Come In The Mail Instead Of Direct Deposit
There are a couple of reasons that your refund would be mailed to you. Your money can only be electronically deposited into a bank account with your name, your spouse’s name or a joint account. If that’s not the reason, you may be getting multiple refund checks, and the IRS can only direct deposit up to three refunds to one account. Additional refunds must be mailed. Also, your bank may reject the deposit and this would be the IRS’ next best way to refund your money quickly.
It’s also important to note that for refunds, direct deposit isn’t always automatic. Just in case, sign in to your IRS account to check that the agency has your correct banking information.
I Received A Second Payment But My Spouse Didn’t
There have been cases where a couple submit their tax returns as “married filing jointly,” and both spouses are eligible for a $1,400 stimulus check, but one spouse received a payment and the other did not . This is an error on the IRS’s part. Unfortunately, the spouse who didn’t receive a check will have to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on his or her 2020 tax return. See below for instructions on claiming the rebate on your tax return.
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Check If You Qualify For The Golden State Stimulus Ii
To qualify, you must have:
- Filed your 2020 taxes by October 15, 2021
- Had a California Adjusted Gross Income of $1 to $75,000 for the 2020 tax year. For this information refer to:
- Line 17 on Form 540
- Line 16 on Form 540 2EZ
- Had wages of $0 to $75,000 for the 2020 tax year
- Been a California resident for more than half of the 2020 tax year
- Been a California resident on the date payment is issued
- Not been claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer
- A dependent is a qualifying child or qualifying relative. Go to FTB Publication 1540 for more information about a qualifying child and qualifying relative
To receive your payment, you must have filed a complete 2020 tax return by .
If you dont qualify for GSS II, you may qualify for GSS I.
How Do I Find My Stimulus Money What To Do About A Missing $1400 Check
Your third stimulus payment could be delayed for a variety of reasons. We’ll help you track down your IRS payment.
Many Americans are relying on stimulus money to cover debt and daily expenses.
To date, the IRS has made 169 million payments for the third round of stimulus checks for $1,400. The agency continues to send weekly batches of payments, so there is still time if you are waiting for your money. However, there could actually be an issue with your payment and the IRS doesn’t want you to call them with problems related to a missing check.
Reasons for a delay could include a lag in mail delivery , if the IRS has incorrect direct deposit information for you or if the agency suspects identity theft. There might be other problems if you’re a recipient of SSI, SSDI or veterans benefits. Or maybe you received a letter from the IRS saying that your $1,400 payment was sent, but the check never arrived. Then what?
We’ll explain below how to request a payment trace or get a recovery rebate credit on your 2020 tax return if you filed a tax extension. We can also share unemployment news, as more states cancel jobless benefits and some offer back-to-work bonuses. Plus, here’s how parents can get money from the child tax credit and calculate their total. This story was recently updated.
Also Check: How To Check For My Stimulus
When Is My Stimulus Payment Coming
Please note that our member support agents do not have information on the status of Economic Impact Payments.
The majority of the stimulus deposits have been processed. If you havent gotten your payment yet, you will likely receive a check or debit card from the IRS, even if you received an electronic deposit last time. Please check the IRS website for more information. You can also find more information on our FAQs below.
The 2020 Stimulus Checks: How Much Are They And Who Gets One
First things first. How much are the stimulus checks, and who is eligible to receive one?
If you have a Social Security Number, arent claimed as a dependent on someone elses tax return, and make less in adjusted gross income than the income limit, youre supposed to be getting a stimulus check.
So what are the criteria to receive a stimulus check?
- Individual taxpayers get a $1,200 payment.
- Couples get $2,400.
- If you have a qualifying child based on the same criteria as the Child Tax Credit youll get an additional $500 for each child.
- Once taxpayers reach an adjusted gross income threshold of $75,000 the refundable tax credit begins to phase out at a rate of $5 for every additional $100 above the limit.
- Once income reaches the level of $99,000 , the credit is phased out completely.
The adjusted gross income theyre basing the credit on is the most recently filed tax return from either 2019 or 2018.
Here are a couple of example scenarios and how much they would receive:
Example 1: An individual files taxes as a single person and has no children. They make $77,000 in income. They would get a reduced stimulus payment since their income is $2,000 over the $75,000 threshold, but under the $99,000 cutoff. The individual will receive a total of $1100. .
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Your Bank Account Number
When you file your taxes, make sure you use your current banking information if you would like your payment through direct deposit.
Typically, you’ll receive this payment using the refund option you select on your tax return. If you received an advanced refund through your tax service provider or paid your tax preparation fees using your refund, you’ll receive your payment by check in the mail.
Your Contact Information Has Changed Since Your 2019 Tax Filing
According to moving tools and analysis company MYMOVE study of USPS change-of-address request data, 16 million Americans temporarily moved during the pandemicif thats you, the IRS may not have your latest address on file.
And even if you filed your taxes early this year, the IRS may not have processed your 2020 tax return. About 6.7 million tax returns are stuck in a backlog waiting to be processed, according to a March 12 story from The Washington Post.
If your mailing address has changed, theres several ways you can notify the IRS of your new contact information:
- Include the new address when you file your 2020 taxes and be sure to notify your tax preparer if you use one.
- Fill out Form 8822, Change of Address and/or a Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party Business and send them to the address shown on the forms.
- Send a letter with your full name, old and new addresses, Social Security number, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number or Employer Identification Number, and signature to the IRS address on your most recent tax returns.
If the government already sent your payment to an old address, youll have to wait until its returned to the IRS and see if you can update your information via Get My Payment.
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What To Do If One Of The Three Stimulus Checks Hasn’t Arrived
About 15 days after the IRS sends out your check, you should receive a letter from the agency confirming the payment. When the first round of stimulus checks went out last year, that letter included two hotline phone numbers because thousands of agents were available to help. But with the second and third rounds of checks, the IRS changed its tune, and these phone numbers may be disconnected.
Here are common scenarios that might indicate you need to look into your stimulus payment:
- If you’re one of the millions of people who qualified for the first stimulus check but never got it.
- If your second stimulus check has still not arrived.
- If you got a letter from the IRS saying your third check was sent, but never received the payment. Or, if the IRS Get My Payment portal said your payment was sent, but you didn’t get it.
- If you got some of your stimulus money from any payment, but not all of it.
You should also confirm you’re qualified to get the stimulus payment, since not everyone who received a previous check is qualified this time. If you think it’s time to take action, read for more options.
What Do I Do If My Payment Was Sent To The Wrong Bank Account
Many taxpayers who used H& R Block, TurboTax or another tax preparation software company have reported issues with receiving their payments. Like with many of the second stimulus checks, the IRS has seemingly sent the funds to the wrong bank accounts.
The IRS has said that if this is the case, the funds will be sent back to the agency and then reissued as either a paper check or debit card and sent to the address the agency has on file for each affected taxpayer. The Get My Payment tool will show the updated information when it’s available.
Also Check: Income Limits For Stimulus Check
Heres Why You Havent Received Your Stimulus Check
There are many people who have received their third stimulus check, while others still havent. If you see Payment status not available, alert on IRS website, and wondering why you didnt get your stimulus check yet, here are the possible reasons:
The IRS didnt process your payment yet
The IRS is sending out the stimulus payments in batches, so it will take some time to send out these payments to millions of taxpayers.
Your bank account information is changed
If your most recent stimulus payment was sent to a closed or inactive bank account, your bank must return that payment to the IRS. You cannot change the bank information that the IRS has on file. You will have to wait until the payment is returned to the IRS and then you will receive a paper check or debit card, and this process may take several weeks.
You moved or changed your address
If you moved or changed your mailing address, then the IRS may not have your latest address on file. You must notify the IRS by filing Form 8822, Change of Address or use your current address on your 2020 tax return.
Your tax process may have not been completed yet
If you already filed your 2020 return, it may have not been processed on the IRS system yet. If you mailed in your tax return rather than electronically filing it, paper return processing time takes way longer.
You dont qualify for a stimulus check anymore
The money has been garnished by a debt collector
You havent filed taxes for the last two years
References
Can A Debt Collector Take My Stimulus Check
Child support, taxes, and other debts to the federal government are exempt from garnishment, but a private debt collector can try to take your stimulus payment. While previous rounds of aid prohibited debt collectors from garnishing stimulus payments, that protection was not included in this third round.
Congress may consider new, separate legislation to shield this round of payments from debt collectors.
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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.
Theres A Glitch With Your Bank Tax Prep Software Or The Irs
This explanation may be the most frustrating of all for people wondering where the heck their stimulus checks are. But a mistake made by your bank, the IRS, or the tax-prep software you used to file returns could screw up your stimulus payment.
As the Washington Post reported, the stimulus payments for millions of taxpayers may be delayed because of a glitch with tax-prep software firms, such as TurboTax, H& R Block, and Jackson Hewitt. The IRS might not have direct deposit information for you if you used one of these services and received an advance on your tax refund, or if you paid for the service by deducting the fee from your tax refund. And if the IRS doesnt have your direct deposit info, your stimulus check will be delayed. If you think this situation applies to you, use the IRS Get My Payment app to provide the agency with your direct deposit details.
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