Stimulus Checks | TaxConnections

Access Leading Tax Experts And Technology
In Our Global Digital Marketplace

By way of background, the IRS is issuing stimulus checks/direct deposits to most US taxpayers who have an SSN. If your income was less than $75,000, you would get $1,200 and another $500 per dependent.Interestingly enough, US citizens living overseas are eligible. You can find more details here.

Part 1: It might not be a check
The first payments were in the form of physical checks (or direct deposit for those who had their direct deposit information on their 2018/2019 tax returns).

While they are still issuing physical stimulus checks, the federal government is sending 4 million “economic impact payments” in the form of prepaid debit cards. The IRS noted that individuals cannot specifically opt to receive the “EIP cards,” as they’re known, over a paper check. According to the Treasury Department, they are distributing the cards to individuals who don’t have their bank account information on file with the IRS. Also, to those whose tax returns were processed by the IRS service centers in Austin, Texas, and Andover, Mass. The first cards were mailed out last week. Austin, Texas is the center which processes tax returns for American overseas. They might receive a debit card.

It can be a good thing for those whose ties to the US are so weak that they don’t have a US bank account to cask it to.

It also leads to confusion with some taxpayer discarding that envelope as spam.
Here are the signs that that debit card is indeed the stimulus check money you’re been waiting for:
– It will arrive in a plain envelope from “Money Network Cardholder Services”
– The name Visa will appear on the front of the card
– The back of the card has the name of the issuing bank: MetaBank
– Information will explain that card is your EIP card
Read More

Written by Olivier Wagner | Posted in Stimulus Checks

Stimulus Payment Questions Answered By John Dundon

The CARES Act (H.R. 748) has now been passed by Congress and signed by the President. This is like raw meat for tax geeks. I dropped everything, sequestered myself, and read until my eyes watered. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions that my most valuable clients are asking and my best efforts at answering them. DISCLAIMER – I PRESENTLY believe the answers to be true based on the text of the bill and some educated conversations with mentors and other tax geeks. Please contact me directly for clarifications.

The stimulus payments being sent out are REALLY advanced tax credits. I believe eligibility will be based on 2020 taxable income, but the advance payments being sent out will be based on 2019 adjusted gross income (AGI). If you have not filed for 2019, it will be based on 2018 AGI.

It is easy to speculate that if someone doesn’t receive an advanced payment now they will be able to claim the credit on their 2020 tax return as long as they qualify based on the current year. But that is still speculation.

The payments are up to $1200 per adult and an additional amount up to $500 per qualifying child generally a child under the age of 17 at the end of the tax year.

Taxpayers who filed tax returns in 2019 or 2018 and meet the eligibility criteria, and/or who received Forms SSA-1099 or RRB-1099 for 2019 will get the payments.
Read More