Payments started arriving in bank accounts the week of April 13. The government will be able to move fastest for people who have filed 2019 tax returns with direct-deposit information and significantly slower for those who will need paper checks.
Is there a way to give the IRS my bank account information to speed up my payment?
The IRS has now added the “Get My Payment” feature on its website that will let people check the status of their payments and provide updated bank information to get direct deposits instead of paper checks.
That can accelerate the payment by weeks or months because the government can only print about five million checks a week.
How much money is it?
The plan provides $1,200 for each adult and $500 for each child under 17. A married couple with two children would get $3,400. Most people will receive the money in a payment from the Internal Revenue Service soon.
Who qualifies for the stimulus payments?
The payments go to almost any adult with a Social Security number, as long as they aren’t dependents of someone else. Those adults get the payments for the children in their household. Payments start phasing out for those with income above $75,000 in adjusted gross income for individuals, $112,500 for heads of household (often single parents) and $150,000 for married couples. The payments start shrinking above those levels.
For those with no children, the benefit disappears at $99,000 for individuals and $198,000 for married couples.
President Trump signed an historic $2 trillion bill into law Friday aimed at relieving workers and businesses hurt by the novel coronavirus pandemic. WSJ breaks down what is in the package. Photo: G. Ronald Lopez/Zuma Press
How can I get the stimulus payment if I don’t usually file tax returns?
The IRS and tax-preparation companies have created a new simple form for people who have no income or too little income to file a tax return in most years. That form is now available through www.irs.gov/coronavirus and individuals can register by answering a few basic questions so the IRS knows where to find them and can send them money.
How does the IRS determine whether you are getting a payment and how much you get?
The government will use 2019 tax returns to set the payment amounts and 2018 tax returns if 2019 isn’t available.
People who haven’t filed tax returns can still file for 2019 to make sure the government has their updated income and bank-account information, as well as 2019 information about recent births, deaths, marriages, divorces and moves. Such changes that happened after 2019 won’t be reflected in the payments, however.
The IRS also will be able to get information from the Social Security Administration about people who get benefits but don’t typically file tax returns, including those who receive Social Security disability benefits. The payments will be made in the same way that those people currently get their Social Security benefits. Those payments should start arriving around the end of April, according to the Social Security Administration.
For people with incomes over the limits, how does the payment work?
Those households should calculate the total amount of the credit, then subtract $5 from that total for every $100 that their adjusted gross income is over the limit. For a married couple with two children earning $180,000, the credit is reduced by 5% of the amount over the $150,000. That is a $1,500 reduction from $3,400, so their payment should be $1,900.
What about people who receive veterans benefits or Supplemental Security Income but not Social Security?
SSI recipients will get the payments automatically by early May in the same way they get their usual benefits, according to the Treasury Department. Those with dependent children will need to use the IRS website for non-filers to provide information about the children to get the $500 payments for them. The payments won’t affect SSI eligibility. Veterans and their beneficiaries who receive benefit payments will receive the stimulus payments automatically without additional paperwork.
What if I lose a substantial amount of income this year as opposed to 2019?
The advance payments will be determined based on 2019 income—or 2018 income if that is all that is available to IRS—and the final amount of the benefits will be determined based on 2020 income and settled on the 2020 tax return.
Married couple
with two children
So people who ultimately qualify for more money than they receive this year—a person whose income drops from $100,000 to $70,000, for example—would get the rest through a larger tax refund or smaller tax payment in early 2021.
But people who ultimately qualify for less money than they got this year—a person whose income rises from $70,000 to $100,000—wouldn’t have to pay it back.
Besides those who make above the income threshold for the payments, is there anyone who doesn’t get a payment?
You must have a Social Security number to get a payment. Also, if you are a dependent on someone else’s tax return and you aren’t a child, you don’t get a payment.
This includes some high-school students, college students and some disabled and elderly people, many of whom show up on the tax returns of the people they live with and who provide most of their support. Immigrants who don’t have Social Security numbers also aren’t eligible.
Are the payments taxable income?
No. They won’t be considered as income.
What about people who owe money to the IRS for prior years?
Other IRS liabilities won’t come out of the payments and even people who owe back taxes should get the full amount they qualify for.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
Do the parameters for who gets a stimulus check seem fair to you? Why or why not? Join the conversation below.
If you have more questions about the economic relief plan or direct payments, fill out the form at the end of this article, and we will answer some of them in the next update.
What about child support?
The normal IRS rules for back child support and tax refunds will apply, which means that refunds for people who are behind on those payments may be smaller.
Do children born in 2020 get the payment?
Parents of children born this year won’t get a payment for that child now.
However, assuming they qualify based on their 2020 income, they would get $500 added to their tax refund or subtracted from their income-tax bill when they file their 2020 tax returns in early 2021.
What if a household didn’t get the stimulus payment?
The IRS will mail a letter 15 days after the payment has been sent. That letter will include instructions on what to do if the payment didn’t arrive.
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Write to Richard Rubin at richard.rubin@wsj.com
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