When Congress passed the CARES Act, they added a provision to send millions of Americans an economic stimulus payment. As we all practice social distancing, you may be hearing from your friends and family that they got their payments. If you haven’t received your stimulus payment yet, you may be wondering where it is.  Below are a few items to consider:

• Which tax return will the IRS look at?  The IRS will base your stimulus payment on the last tax return you filed.  If you haven’t filed for 2019 yet, then the IRS will be looking at your 2018 tax return.  

• Are you eligible to receive a payment based on your last filed tax return?  If you are married filing joint, your adjusted gross income (AGI) must be below $198,000.  You will only receive a portion of the amount if your AGI is above $150,000.  For single filers, the maximum AGI is $99,000.  Your payment will start to be phased out if your AGI is above $75,000. 

• How much will I receive?  Eligible individuals will receive $1,200. Two eligible individuals filing a joint return will receive $2,400. You will receive an additional $500 Payment for each qualifying child you claimed as a dependent on your tax return if they are under age 17. 

• Will I get a check or direct deposit into my bank account?  If you received a federal refund on your last filed tax return and you utilized direct deposit, then the IRS likely has your bank information to direct deposit.  If you did not receive a refund, you will likely be getting a check in the mail.  Just because you received a direct deposit at some other point in the past, that does not mean the IRS has your bank information.  They are only looking at the last return filed. 

• Can I check on my stimulus payment? Yes, go to https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment and click on the blue “Get My Payment” button.  You will need to enter your social security number, birthday and address (if filing jointly use the first taxpayer on the return).  This will alert you to the status of your payment or if they don’t have a bank account on file.  If you would like to add your bank account information, you can at this point.  Or you can wait for the mailing of the checks. 

• Are my stimulus payments taxable?  No.  This is an advanced credit on your 2020 tax return.  So, if for some reason you never receive your stimulus payment, you can claim it on your 2020 income tax return. 

• Will I have to pay back my stimulus payment if the IRS sent me too much?  No.  You won’t be required to repay any Payment when filing your 2020 tax return even if your adjusted gross income increases in 2020 above the thresholds listed above.

This program was rolled out very quickly and is serving millions of taxpayers.  No one knows the exact timing of when all the payments will be received and in what order they are being sent out.  We do know that the first wave of payments were made on April 15, 2020.  If you have further questions regarding the stimulus payment, check out the IRS website or let us know.