IRS releases details on how to get your coronavirus stimulus money
Checks from the coronavirus stimulus package could start going out in the next three weeks, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Services said.
Most people won’t have to do a thing to get the stimulus payment deposited directly in their bank accounts, the IRS said this week, but there are some exceptions.
The direct checks are separate from the new unemployment benefits in the stimulus package.
Who gets a stimulus check?
People who made up to $75,000 and married couples making up to $150,000 will get the full stimulus payment of $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for couples. Parents will get an extra $500 per child.
“For filers with income above those amounts, the payment amount is reduced by $5 for each $100 above the $75,000/$150,000 thresholds. Single filers with income exceeding $99,000 and $198,000 for joint filers with no children are not eligible,” the IRS said.
To be eligible, people have to have filed taxes for 2018 or 2019. If you have not filed taxes for either year, the IRS says people should file as soon as possible and include direct deposit information on the return.
The tax filing deadline for this year has been pushed back to July 15, but the IRS said the stimulus payments will be available to tax payers through the end of 2020.
What if the IRS doesn’t have my bank information?
According to the IRS: “In the coming weeks, Treasury plans to develop a web-based portal for individuals to provide their banking information to the IRS online, so that individuals can receive payments immediately as opposed to checks in the mail.”
What about people who don’t normally file returns?
Many people, including those on Social Security, some veterans and people with disabilities and others don’t normally have to file a tax return. Those people “will need to file a simple tax return to receive an economic impact payment.”
“IRS.gov/coronavirus will soon provide information instructing people in these groups on how to file a 2019 tax return with simple, but necessary, information including their filing status, number of dependents and direct deposit bank account information,” the IRS said.
What about college students?
College students who are still claimed as dependents by their parents will not get stimulus payments, and parents can only claim children under 17 as dependents. College students who are not considered dependents will get a stimulus check like other taxpayers.
“Generally, a full-time college student under the age of 24 is considered a dependent if their parent(s) provide more than half of their support,” according to a summary of the stimulus from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
What if I owe back taxes?
Owing back taxes to a state or the IRS will not change your stimulus payment, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
The only thing that could change the amount of the check is owing for unpaid child support that has been reported to the Treasury Department, Grassley said.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 12:48 PM with the headline "IRS releases details on how to get your coronavirus stimulus money."
