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Millions of Americans eagerly await their second stimulus checks, which provide $ 600 for each eligible adult and child. The IRS said last Tuesday it had started distributing checks by direct deposit, a process that will extend into this week.
The tax agency added that it began sending paper checks on Dec. 30 to people who do not have their bank account information on file with the IRS. But even so, the timeline leaves many people wondering when exactly the check will arrive in their accounts – especially since the IRS website to check the payment status isn’t available.
The second stimulus check follows a difficult rollout this spring for more than 160 million stimulus payments led by the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) law. This relief effort, which directed $ 1,200 for each eligible adult and $ 500 for each eligible child, encountered a number of problems, such as a late payment people who did not have their bank details registered with the IRS, as was the case with some Social Security recipients.
The IRS will use the same method to get the money to people as it did in the first round, said Mark Steber, director of tax information at Jackson Hewitt.
“If taxpayers received direct deposit, they will do it again; if they got a check or a debit card in the mail, they will do it again, ”he said.
But the IRS ‘Get My Payment’ website is currently offline. The agency said it expects its “Get My Payment” tool to be up and running again “in a few days”, although it did not specify a date.
That’s a problem, although the site is expected to be available next week, according to the IRS statement, Steber noted. “The updated website should include information on the first and second stimulus payments,” he said.
This website allowed people this spring to provide or update their bank account data to the IRS. He also informed people of when their checks would arrive in their accounts. But there were also problems. Some people reported having error messages as “Payment Status Unavailable”, while others have been blocked off site.
“Payments are automatic”
On Dec. 29, the IRS said “payments are automatic” for people who have filed an income tax return for 2019, as well as for people who receive Social Security benefits, railway retirement benefits or recipients of supplementary security income and veterans who have not filed an income tax return. tax return.
The IRS added that people who successfully used the non-filers tool before November 21 – a site created to ensure that people who don’t normally file a tax return would receive a payment – would automatically receive their second stimulus check.
The payments will not be taxed because they are not considered earned income, Steber said. But, he added, “Taxpayers should keep their IRS Notice 1444, which shows the exact amount they received, to reconcile their payments so they can receive any additional amounts owed on their return. of income 2020 ”.
How much will I receive?
IRS sends $ 600 to each eligible adult and child – not the $ 2000 that had been pushed by President Donald Trump.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blocked an attempt to vote on House-approved $ 2,000 stimulus checks, but resurrected higher payouts in a new bill that includes other elements on Mr. Trump’s wishlist, including the repeal of Section 230, which protects social media companies from lawsuits.
While stimulus checks are unlikely to reach $ 2,000, the Treasury Department has said it will be able to handle the possibility. “If additional legislation is enacted to provide for an increased amount, the economic impact payments that have been issued will be recharged as quickly as possible,” according to a Dec. 29 Treasury statement.
The second round of payments heads $ 600 for singles earning up to $ 75,000 and $ 1,200 for married couples earning up to $ 150,000.
The amount then decreases for people earning above these thresholds, and disappears completely for singles earning over $ 87,000 and married couples earning over $ 174,000. Children under 17 will receive $ 600 each. Children under 17 are not eligible, as are dependent adults, such as university students and certain people with disabilities who are declared as dependents on their relatives’ income tax returns.
More people are eligible for the second round of stimulus checks than the first, the IRS added.
“Under the old CARES law, joint returns of couples where only one member of the couple had a social security number were generally not eligible for payment – unless they were in the military.” , the IRS noted. “But this month’s new law changes and expands that provision.”
As part of the new relief bill, the US government will allow mixed-status households of US citizens with undocumented family members to receive stimulus checks that were denied to them under the first set of laws in the spring, and who triggered several lawsuits.
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