The US government has distributed about 130 million economic impact payments to taxpayers in less than 30 days. The IRS anticipates sending more than 150 million payments as part of a massive coronavirus rescue package. The distribution has had some hiccups, including an overwhelmed website, payments to deceased taxpayers and money sent to inactive accounts. For those still waiting or with other questions, here are a few answers: WHERE IS MY PAYMENT? The government can’t logistically or physically make all the payments at once, so it’s doing so in steps. For those with direct deposit information on file with the IRS, based 2019 or 2018 tax return, payments began going out on April 10. Payments started going out last week to Social Security beneficiaries, railroad retirees and veterans who aren’t required to file a tax return; these will continue through May. Individuals in this group will get their relief by the same method they receive their other benefits, be that direct deposit or mail. Others who are not required to file tax returns, such as low-income individuals, were encouraged to file basic information on the IRS website. Without this information, the government cannot issue a payment. Anyone who is eligible but does not have direct deposit information on file will be mailed a check. Those began to go out in late April, but that process might take several months because of distribution limitations. All payments were prioritized in order from lowest income to highest income. So, first make sure you’re eligible for a payment. Any U.S. citizen with a Social Security number who makes up to $75,000 will get a payment of $1,200; married couples who file jointly and earn less than $150,000 will get $2,400. The payment steadily declines for those who make more, and phases out for those who earn more than $99,000; or $198,000 for married couples. The thresholds are different for those who file as head of household. If you qualify, make sure the IRS has the current and necessary information. The IRS has a Get My Payment tool on its website for people to add their direct deposit information or track the status of their payment. WHY WON’T THE TOOL WORK FOR ME? The IRS has fixed some glitches with Get My Payment since the rollout. The experience may still not be perfect. Some taxpayers say they still cannot get past the first step of entering their basic information — name, address and adjusted gross income. The information entered must exactly match that on tax returns. Look closely for minor differences, such as spelling out Street instead of abbreviating it. Several users said they had success with putting the address in all caps, as suggested by the LA Times. The IRS says, however, that the entry line is not case sensitive. It did say removing all punctuation may help. If these fail, consider using 2018 tax return data. A word of warning: Three unsuccessful attempts to log on in one day will leave a user locked out for 24 hours as a security precaution. WHY AM I GETTING ERROR MESSAGES ON GET MY PAYMENT? The “Payment Status Not Available” response has vexed many users. It means the IRS cannot determine your eligibility right now. There are a few reasons for this. First, you didn’t file […]
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