How to Get Your Economic Impact Payment...and Quickly.
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard a little something about receiving a stimulus check from the IRS in the coming weeks, better known as an Economic Impact Payment.
Want to know the quickest way to get your money, how much you’ll be getting, etc.? Here’s the deal:
Who qualifies?
• Individuals earning under $75,000 would receive $1,200
• Couples earning under $150,000 would receive $2,400
• People who claim Head of Household on their taxes and earn under $112,500 would receive $1,200
• Families with children would receive $500 per child under 17 years old
Make more than all of the above? The payout decreases by $5 per every $100 earned after that, zeroing out at $99,000 for individuals. For married couples, the phaseout range is $150,000 - $198,000.
Social Security beneficiaries who aren’t typically required to file tax returns won’t need to file to receive a payment, according to the IRS. Instead, payments will be automatically deposited into their checking or savings accounts at your determined financial institution that the IRS already has on file.
Low-income taxpayers and some veterans, who generally don’t file or aren't required to file, should wait. The IRS is working on a solution and will have more information for you soon. Check IRS.gov/coronavirus for the most up to date info.
Social Security and Railroad Retirement beneficiaries will receive an Economic Impact Payment automatically deposited into their checking / savings accounts they already have on file with the IRS, and DO NOT need to take any action.
How is the amount you’ll get determined?
The IRS will use your adjusted gross income from your 2019 taxpayer forms to figure out how much you should receive. Don’t have 2019 taxes done yet? Then the IRS would use your 2018 taxpayer forms. If you don’t have any of those on file but are required by law to file taxes, well then you may want to use this stimulus check as an incentive to consider doing those taxes.
What to do to get your money the quickest?
Make sure the IRS has your current financial institution info on file so the money gets direct deposited into your account. Don’t have a savings or checking account set up yet? Get started here.
Who can sit back, relax and collect those dollar bills?
• People with 2018 or 2019 taxes on file with the IRS AND has authorized the IRS to direct deposit to their account previously.
• Social Security and Railroad Retirement beneficiaries will receive an Economic Impact Payment automatically deposited into their checking / savings accounts they already have on file with the IRS, and DO NOT need to take any action.
Who will have to do a little work to collect their money quickly?
• People that do not have their financial institution account information on file with the IRS already or don’t have a current mailing address on file.
What will cause you not to receive any money?
If your address has changed since the last time you filed taxes and you have no direct deposit information on file with the IRS, this could halt the process until the IRS can find you. In the coming weeks, Treasury plans to develop a web-based portal for individuals to provide their checking / savings account information to the IRS online, so that individuals can receive payments immediately as opposed to checks in the mail. When this site is available, the IRS will notify people here.
Payments will be sent out within the next 3 weeks if your financial institution information is on file with the IRS, so that they can direct deposit the money. Looking to get your check via snail mail? This could take weeks or even months. Do yourself a favor and get that direct deposit set up and info to the IRS.
Because information is ever-changing, check https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus for the latest updates.
Watch out for scams!
Where there's money involved, it seems there's always someone waiting to scam someone out of it these days. We encourage you to be suspicious of anyone asking for personal information, especially those you're not familiar with. The IRS is urging taxpayers to be on the lookout for scam artists trying to use the economic impact payments as cover for schemes to steal personal information and money. Remember, the IRS will not call, text, email or contact you on social media asking for personal or account information – even related to the economic impact payments. Also, watch out for emails with attachments or links claiming to have special information about economic impact payments or refunds. These are also not from the IRS.
Happy Spending! But also please remember the Stay At Home order is still in place for the near future. If you're excited about buying something fun, please shop online.
Written by: Erin Kozminske, Member Engagement Manager
Resources: IRS, NBC News, CNN
