More $1400 Payments Go Out Automatically After Aarp Urges Irs Ssa To Prioritize Federal Beneficiaries
by John Waggoner, AARP, Updated May 6, 2021| 0
En español |;The IRS has sent a wave of pandemic stimulus checks to government retirees who normally dont file federal income taxes. Now the agency is sending payments to Veterans Affairs beneficiaries who dont normally file taxes.;But the Social Security Administration says if you are a beneficiary and havent gotten your stimulus check, you need to file a 2020 tax return now to get any stimulus payments due to you. ;
To date, the IRS has delivered 164 million stimulus payments worth about $386 billion during the coronavirus relief mandated by the American Rescue Plan Act, which President Joe Biden signed on March 11.;
Many low-income beneficiaries including recipients of Social Security retirement and disability benefits, as well as recipients of SSI benefits administered by the Social Security Administration arent required to file tax returns, and some of those payments were delayed. The IRS said it was waiting for updated information from the SSA on bank accounts and addresses of federal beneficiaries to ensure the stimulus payments reach eligible individuals.;
AARP has pushed the IRS and the SSA to move more swiftly to get those checks to individuals who dont file federal income taxes.
On March 25 the SSA gave the IRS the updated information required to begin delivering stimulus checks to some 30 million federal beneficiaries still awaiting payments, Saul said.
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Will I Receive A Payment Even Though I Didnt File A Tax Return
You do not need to have filed a tax return in the past two years in order to qualify for the coronavirus stimulus check. The IRS will automatically send you a payment.;
However, please note that in order to receive the $500 payment for dependent children, you will need to either file your taxes for 2018 or 2019. Alternatively, you can submit non-filer information to the IRS to ensure that you receive the proper payment.
Receiving Social Security Payments
Social Security benefits are only paid out electronically; you will not receive a Social Security check in the mail. You can either receive a direct deposit into your bank account or opt for a prepaid debit card. When you apply to receive your Social Security benefits, you will have the chance to provide your account number and the routing number of your bank or credit union.
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Amount Of Your Third Stimulus Check
Every eligible American will receive a $1,400 third stimulus check “base amount.” The base amount jumps to $2,800 for married couples filing a joint tax return. You also get an extra $1,400 for each dependent in your family .
Not everyone will receive the full amount, though. As with the first two stimulus payments, third-round stimulus checks will be reduced potentially to zero for people reporting an adjusted gross income above a certain amount on their latest tax return. If you filed your most recent tax return as a single filer, your third stimulus check will be phased-out if your AGI is $75,000 or more. That threshold jumps to $112,500 for head-of-household filers, and to $150,000 for married couples filing a joint return. Third-round stimulus checks will be completely phased out for single filers with an AGI above $80,000, head-of-household filers with an AGI over $120,000, and joint filers with an AGI exceeding $160,000.
You can use our handy Third Stimulus Check Calculator to get a customized estimated payment amount. All you have to do is answer three easy questions.
If Someone Else Oversees My Federal Benefits Account How Will I Get My Stimulus Check
If someone, also known as a representative payee, helps manage your Social Security benefits on your behalf, that person — a relative, friend or someone appointed on behalf of an organization –;should discuss your benefits with you, the beneficiary. That’s according to guidance from the Social Security Administration. So if you’d like to use your money, the person managing your account should provide you with the stimulus payment.;
“Your Individual Representative Payee; should have received your EIP to the same direct deposit account or Direct Express card as your monthly Social Security or SSI payment,”;the SSA says on its site. “For an Organizational Representative Payee, the payee likely received the EIP electronically or by paper check in the mail.”
The SSA says representative payees aren’t required to account for the stimulus payment when they complete their annual accounting form, as it’s not considered a Social Security benefit.
You could be missing out on more stimulus money.;
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If I Haven’t Received My Stimulus Check What Should I Do
If there’s a problem with your stimulus check, the SSA and VA refer you back to the IRS. However, the IRS doesn’t want you to call if you have an issue with your payment, and points out repeatedly on its FAQ pages that phone staff don’t have additional information beyond what’s available to you in the IRS tracking tool. So, what then?;
Depending on the situation, there may be a few self-service options if you run into stimulus check trouble;or are looking for an explanation of what’s holding up your check. Otherwise, you may need to request a payment trace with the IRS, but there are specific timing rules for that.
Some of the rules surrounding the third stimulus payment get complicated.;
What The Irs Says
The federal body hasn’t released an official update since its statement on March 12, which said: “Social Security and other federal beneficiaries will generally receive this third payment the same way as their regular benefits. A payment date for this group will be announced shortly.”
The federal body will “automatically send” third stimulus funds to those who didn’t file a tax return but are recipients of SSDI, SSI, Railroad Retirement and Veterans Affairs benefits.
However, some of those expecting to receive an automatic third stimulus payment based on their federal benefits information may need to file a 2020 tax return even if they don’t usually file taxes.
“If your third payment does not include a payment for your qualified dependent who did not receive a third payment, you must file a 2020 tax return to be considered for an additional third payment even if you don’t normally file,” the IRS noted on March 4.
The IRS is working with the aforementioned federal benefits agencies “to get updated information for 2021 to assist with stimulus payments at a date to be determined,” the federal body said on March 4.
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What Social Security Administration Says
No updates have been shared by the Social Security Administration since March 12 when its website stated: “The IRS is reviewing the tax provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed into law on March 11, 2021. We will add helpful Q&As to this page soon, like we did for each of the first two rounds of EIPs.
“If you still subscribe to receive updates from us when we update our EIP1 and EIP2 pages, we will automatically add you to a subscription list for this new EIP page,” the website notes.
Asked Thursday when SSDI and SSI recipients can expect to receive their stimulus funds, a spokesperson for the SSA directed Newsweek to “reach out to the IRS Press Office for a response” to our query.
Do I Qualify For The Full $1400 Amount Maybe More Or Less
As part of the new administration’s;American Rescue Plan, people who receive SSI and SSDI will once again automatically qualify to receive a;third stimulus check, for up to $1,400, as they did for the first and second round of payments approved in March and December 2020.;
In the first two rounds, those individuals were eligible so long as they had a Social Security number and weren’t;claimed as a dependent;on someone else’s tax return — and so long as their household income didn’t exceed the threshold .
The most recent March stimulus package expands stimulus payment eligibility to dependents of all ages, including;young adults ages 17 to 24;and;older adult dependents. It also increases the amount set aside for those dependents to;$1,400 each. Another change: This time around,;the checks will be more “targeted” than in the first two rounds, meaning that single taxpayers who earn $75,000 or less per year will be eligible for the full amount, while those who earn more than $80,000 per year won’t get any money. That means;some families could get more money, while others will get less or none at all.
People receiving Railroad Retirement and VA benefits also automatically qualify for a payment, as they did in the first and second round of stimulus checks, the IRS said.;
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Social Security Disability And Stimulus Check Faqs
Many people who are collecting Social Security Disability have questions about if and when they will receive a second stimulus check. Other SSDI recipients may never have received their first stimulus check.
In this article the experienced Orange County Social Security Disability attorneys at Cantrell Green answer some of our SSD recipients frequently asked questions about the second stimulus check as well as how to make a claim for last years stimulus payment if you did not receive one.
How To Track The Status Of Your Third Stimulus Check
The IRS’s “Get My Payment” tool lets you track your third stimulus check payment. The online portal lets you:
- Check the status of your stimulus payment;
- Confirm your payment type ; and
- Get a projected direct deposit or paper check delivery date .
Payments for Social Security recipients and other federal beneficiaries may have already been reported in the portal as “pending” or “provisional” payments. However, the official payment date is today.
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This Is Bad: Your Stimulus Check Could Cost You Disability Benefits
Due to a misunderstanding between the Social Security Administration and other parts of the government, some Americans have lost their eligibility for disability payments.
Due to a misunderstanding between the Social Security Administration and other parts of the government, some Americans have lost their eligibility for disability payments, the HuffPost reported this week.
The whole point of stimulus was to help people who were being harmed during COVID, and now theres going to be people facing a cessation of benefits and theyre going to end up in a worse place, Michelle Spadafore, senior supervising attorney with the New York Legal Assistance Group, told the news outlet.
It appears that the stimulus checks have pushed some beneficiaries incomes above the threshold under which they are eligible for benefits, even though that isnt supposed to happen.
The report also noted that the resource limit of $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples hasnt been updated since 1989. President Biden, however, has proposed raising that figure, although the legislation has not yet been introduced.
Youre going to give me a stimulus check to stimulate the economy, and I cant go out under doctors orders and youre penalizing me for having this money, one man affected by the mistake said. Now its going to cost me money to have this money.
After the American Rescue Plan passed, Forbes looked at what the legislation does to help disabled people.
How To Track Your Stimulus Check
The IRS said Tuesday the Get My Payment tool on the agency’s website won’t be updated until the weekend of April 3-4, so federal beneficiaries will have to wait until at least then to check on the status of their payments. VA benefit recipients may have to wait until at least mid-April to use the tool.;
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Do Ssdi And Ssi Recipients Have To File A Tax Return
People who receive monthly SSDI or SSI checks who did not file a tax return in 2018 or 2019 are not required to do anything, including filing a simple tax return, unless they have dependents. For those without minor children or other dependents, the IRS will look at Form SSA-1099 benefit statements to get the information it needs to send out the payments automatically.
Parents who have children under 17 or other dependents, who receive monthly SSDI or SSI checks, and who did not file a tax return in 2018 or 2019, however, might need to file a tax return by May 17, 2021 to claim the “Recovery Rebate Credit” for their minor children or other dependents.
What About Lost Stimulus Payments
If you did not receive any of the three stimulus payments and believe it was lost, you may request that it be traced by the IRS. There are, however, waiting periods based on the payment method.
You must wait five days from the date of a direct deposit and four weeks for payments made by check. If a lost check went to an address that you no longer live at and the mail was forwarded by the post office, you must wait six weeks from the date the IRS mailed the check. The waiting period for checks mailed to a foreign address is nine weeks from the date of mailing.
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How Will Ssdi And Ssi Recipients Get Their Stimulus Checks
SSDI and SSI recipients who receive their monthly benefit payments by Direct Express debit card should receive their stimulus payments by Direct Express. This was not necessarily true for the first and second payments, but the IRS says most disability recipients should receive their third payments by Direct Express. Others might either receive a direct deposit , a paper check, or a prepaid Visa debit card.
The debit cards, issued by MetaBank, are called Economic Impact Payment cards. After activating the card, you can use your EIP card for purchases or use it to withdraw cash . You can also transfer the funds from your EIP card directly into your own bank account, after you register for online access.
You First Received Ssdi Or Ssi On Or After January 1 :
This category applies to anyone who started receiving Social Security – including retirement, survivors or disability or Supplemental Security Income on or after January 1, 2020. Your stimulus payment will be based on whether you filed a 2018 or 2019 income tax return.
Tax Return: If you filed a 2018 or 2019 tax return, and received a tax refund electronically, you already should have received a stimulus check payment through direct deposit. If you listed qualifying dependents on your tax return, and received a tax refund electronically, then you also should have received any dependent payment. If you didnt receive an electronic refund or any refund, then the IRS will send you a paper stimulus check for you and any qualifying dependents listed on your tax return. If you did not list any dependents, you will need to file a 2020 income tax return to receive any dependent payment.
No Tax Return: If you did not file a 2018 or 2019 tax return, you can use the Non-Filer tool to enter your and your dependent information. If you enter bank account information, it must be a bank account different than your Direct Express bank account. If you want a paper check by mail, then you can leave the bank information blank.
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Questions Answered About When Ssi Ssdi Recipients Will Get Stimulus Checks
Alison DeNisco Rayome/CNET.com
The third stimulus check is on its way to millions of people. Here are the new qualification rules for SSI and SSDI recipients and their dependents, a timeline for when the payments could arrive and what to do if any money is still missing from the first two checks.
The IRS is;continuing to send;out the first wave of;$1,400 stimulus checks;to;eligible individuals;and families with;direct deposit;on file with the agency ;heres how to see where your payment is. But if youre a recipient of Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, you may not get your check during the first wave. Well help answer questions you have about when to expect your;third stimulus check;and more.
Other details, however, are more complex for example, if you stopped or started receiving SSI or SSDI in 2019 or 2020, your situation could;become complicated now that its tax season. Well explain how to;claim any money youre missing from the first two stimulus checks; even if;you dont usually file taxes; and can help answer how your third payment might arrive.
Irs To Announce Third Stimulus Check To Social Security Beneficiaries Soon
Some beneficiaries of government programs will receive the third stimulus check of $1,400 to their Direct Express card.
Most beneficiaries of federal programs such as those in the Social Security Administration will not have to take action to receive the third $1,400 stimulus check from the Internal Revenue Service .
Although the IRS has not yet specified the timing of payment mailings to this group, the agency indicated Friday that it would be reporting soon when stimulus payments to beneficiaries of Social Security and other federal government assistance programs will be processed.
Since these payments are automatic for most eligible individuals, contacting financial institutions or the IRS about the timing of payment will not expedite the arrival of payment, the IRS said in a press release.
The IRS will automatically send the EIP3 to individuals who did not file a return, but who receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits , railroad retirement benefits, supplemental security income or Veterans Affairs benefits, the entity added.
Many SS recipients could receive the third stimulus payment on the Direct Express card to which their benefits arrive monthly.
According to a company fact sheet on its website, only cardholders who already have cards are eligible to receive the funds that way.
Over the next few days and weeks, the IRS will continue the payment distribution process with the goal of completing the majority of the mailings this month.
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