Q: Who is eligible to receive the Economic Stimulus Payment? (Updated June 5, 2020) per IRS website
A1. U.S. citizens and U.S. resident aliens will receive the Economic Impact Payment of $1,200 or $2,400 if they filed married filing jointly and if they are not a dependent of another taxpayer and have a work eligible Social Security number with adjusted gross income up to:
- $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns
- $112,500 for head of household filers and
- $ 75,000 for all other eligible individuals
Taxpayers will receive a 5% reduction in their payment for the amount their AGI is above these amounts.
Eligible retirees and recipients of Social Security retirement, survivor, or disability benefits (SSDI), Railroad Retirement benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and VA Compensation and Pension (C&P), who do not file a tax return, will receive a $1,200 payment automatically.
For eligible taxpayers who filed tax returns for 2019 or 2018, they receive the payments automatically.
For people who have little or no income and didn’t file a tax return or don’t receive any of the federal benefits listed above, they are also eligible for an Economic Impact Payment. They need to register with the Non-Filer tool on IRS.gov as soon as possible so they can receive a payment.
Q: Does someone who is incarcerated qualify for the Payment? (updated October 19, 2020)
A14.Pursuant to a permanent injunction entered in Scholl v. Mnuchin, No. 20-cv-05309 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 14, 2020), the IRS cannot deny a payment to someone who is incarcerated if they meet the criteria described above in the response to Q A1. Information can be provided to the IRS by using the Non-Filers online tool by November 21, 2020. Or, you may mail us a 2019 simplified paper tax return following the procedures at File a Simplified Paper Tax Return by the court-ordered deadline of November 4, 2020.
NOTE: Anyone that mails in their completed Simplified Paper Tax Return to the IRS will have to pray the prison mail system gets your form in for you to complete and then back out in time for the IRS to receives it by the November 4, 2020 deadline.
The issues are the USPS mail is running slow with the election ballots being mailed and the IRS Simplified Paper Tax Return deadline is a day after the election. Also due to COVID-19 the IRS currently has a backlog of 2.5 million 2019 paper tax returns that they're still trying to process.
It is our recommendation that filing your Non-Filers tax form electronically will ensure a timely submission and allow you to get your stimulus payment the quickest. The filing deadline is November 21, 2020.
Q: If I owe taxes or have a payment agreement with the IRS, ill my payment be reduced or offset?
A: The CARES Act limits offsets of Economic Impact Payments to past-due child support. No other federal or state debts that normally offset your tax refunds will reduce the payment. Nevertheless, tax refunds paid under the Internal Revenue Code, including the Economic Impact Payment, are not protected from garnishment by creditors once the proceeds are deposited into an individual’s bank account.
Q: Will my payment be offset if I owe past-due child support?
A: If you owe past-due child support, your Payment will be offset.