Stimulus checks begin going out this week

Rumors have been circulating over the past couple of weeks about the arrival date for COVID-19 economic stimulus payments.

Those who work with the IRS on a regular basis, such as tax accountants and tax attorneys, hadn’t heard a word about when to expect stimulus payments when asked lasr week.

“I guess we’ll find out when we get them,” Vinita Weidenbenner, a certified public accountant with Jean & Co. in Dexter, said Friday morning.

State Rep. Herman Morse didn’t know either, despite efforts to track down that information.

Some publications, such as Forbes magazine, reported the direct deposits were to begin as early as Thursday.

However, on Friday, the IRS ended the speculation. 

It announced stimulus funds to help boost the economy by providing consumers with some spending money during the COVID-19 pandemic will be deposited into bank accounts beginning this week.

The initial deposits will go to those who filed tax returns in the past two years and received refunds through direct deposit.

Various reports say between 50 and 70 million people should receive stimulus funds next week.

People who receive Social Security retirement, survivors and disability benefits, SSDI or railroad retirement benefits and did not file a return for 2018 or 2019 will automatically receive a payment in the near future, according to irs.gov.

According to the Detroit Free Press, those payments could begin as early as the week of April 20.

On Friday, the IRS began offering an option for those who don’t have to pay taxes, including those who don’t have enough income, where they can go online and enter payment information.

Go to irs.gov and click on the “Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here” tab where you can enter bank account information or a mailing address.

For people who already have filed their 2019 tax returns, the IRS will use this information to determine the payment amount.

For those who have not filed their return for 2019, the IRS will use information from their 2018 tax filing to calculate the payment. The payment will be deposited directly into the same banking account submitted for their refunds.

Tax filers with an adjusted gross income up to $75,000 for individuals will receive $1,200, and married couples filing joint returns and make no more than $150,000 will receive $2,400, according to irs.gov.

Those meeting those thresholds will receive up to $500 per child under the age of 17.

For filers with income above those amounts, the IRS website reports the payment amount is reduced by $5 for each $100 above the $75,000/$150,000 thresholds.

Single filers with income exceeding $99,000 and joint filers making more than $198,000, with no children, are ineligible for the payment. 

The final round of payments will be those made by check.

Those checks would be mailed over the next several weeks. It could take until August for recipients to see the money, according to the Detroit newspaper.

The IRS reports it is building a tool where people may check on the status of their payment, including the date their payment is scheduled to be deposited into their bank account or mailed to them.

“Get My Payment” is expected to go live by April 17.

The tool would allow people a chance to provide their bank account information, so they can receive their payments more quickly than waiting for a check.

The payments come from a $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump.