More on Stimulus Payments
Economic Impact Payments, more commonly referred to as “Stimulus Payments” began arriving in
taxpayers bank accounts around April 15th. We’ve fielded several telephone calls and emails (and at least
one actual letter) with questions about these payments.
What’s interesting is that these payments, and who qualifies, has been a hot topic in the news. The North
Carolina Association of CPA’s has an online forum, which we try to read daily. Most days there are a couple
of new posts, but for the past month or so, it seems like there have been dozens of posts daily. Who gets
these payments has been one of the more popular topics.
Most of the questions revolve around special situations, and it seems like we’ve gotten phone calls or
emails about most of them, and more.
A couple of early questions were cleared up quickly. The first most popular topic was about Social Security
recipients. If you get Social Security but aren’t required to file, you should receive your payment
automatically to the account your Social Security check is deposited to monthly. The second question
revolved around what if you got more than you expected. All the guidance we’ve seen says if you get more
than you think you’re supposed to, you won’t be required to pay the overpayment back.
What if you aren’t required to file, don’t collect Social Security, or have some other special situation where
the IRS doesn’t know to send you a payment. There is a Non-Filers page on the IRS.gov website where you
can enter information about yourself and you should receive the payment.
What if you do file a return but for whatever reason the IRS doesn’t have your bank account information.
This past week the IRS added a “Get My Payment” link to the IRS.gov website to allow you to update your
bank information. The IRS has said it may take three to five months to get your payment if you wait for a
check. Go to this website, input your bank information, and you should have your payment in just a few
days or weeks.
To use this tool, you will need some information from your most recently filed tax return (2018 or 2019).
As you can understand, this site has been very popular. The IRS says they have designed it to handle a lot
of users at one time, but you may be put on hold if the system is currently overwhelmed. Keep trying.
This page is also where you can get an update on when your payment will arrive. Again, folks are using
this site a lot to get payment status. You may get a “not available” message because the system is too
busy at the present time, you’re not eligible for a payment, or the system doesn’t have enough
information yet to provide you with a status. This is updated constantly, and it is the best way to get an
update on when you can expect your payment.
In these uncertain times please remember that we are happy to answer any questions you have, but so
many of these government programs are constantly being updated so we may not have an answer to your
question. Or, as has been the case a lot over the past few weeks, the answer we “thought” was correct
turns out to be wrong because we don’t have the most up-to-date guidance.
You can get more information on this or many other topics at our website – www.fawandassociates.com
or you can contact us directly by calling our office at (336) 838-3080. You can also email me at
jim@fawandassociates.com any time with your question or concern.
We hope your and your family stay safe and well and we all look forward to life getting back to normal
soon.
