The IRS began issuing economic impact payments or stimulus checks a few weeks ago with more than 152 million payments sent out as of mid-May. These payments will be available to eligible tax filers throughout 2020. Eligible tax filers include individuals and joint filers (eg: married couples) who filed taxes for 2019 and/or 2018 within the gross income thresholds of $0 - $99,000 for individual filers and $0 - $198,000 for joint filers. If you fall under either of these categories, the IRS will have you on their list and automatically send out your economic impact payment with no further action required from your side.
However, quite a few individuals and families still have not received their payments, owing to a variety of factors. Firstly, you might not be eligible to receive a stimulus payment. To check your eligibility, you should fall under any one of the following categories:
You’re a single US resident with a gross adjusted income below $75,000 or between $75,000 and $99,000.
You file your tax return as the head of a household and earn less than $146,5000.
You file joint tax returns without children with a gross adjusted income less than $150,000 or between $150,000 and $198,000.
You have a child not older than 16 years of age.
Second, you may have failed to enter your direct deposit information, resulting in the IRS processing to mail you a check which is typically a longer procedure. There are rumors that the Treasury will be developing an online portal in the next few weeks for individuals to provide their bank details to the IRS online and eliminate the need to wait for payments by mail. Furthermore, the bank details you provided might be outdated or invalid (eg: temporary payment methods such as prepaid debit cards or old addresses), which will either lead to waiting for the IRS to snail mail you a check or require you to give the IRS a current mailing address.
Lastly, you probably didn’t need to file a tax return for 2018 or 2019 if your income was low, if you’re a senior citizen, if you’re a Social Security recipient, and/or if you’re a veteran or individual with certain disabilities. But you still may be eligible to receive a stimulus payment if you fall under the above eligibility categories. In this case, you will need to file a simple non-filers form listed here on the IRS website.
To know more about filing taxes during these difficult times, consult with the experts at Landmark Tax and rest assured that your tax filing needs will be met by their seasoned, dedicated professionals. If you belong to a church or non-profit business, Landmark Tax is the right choice for you, given their years of experience in aiding churches and non-profit organizations with their tax preparation and financial planning needs.