STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- If you didn’t yet benefit from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department’s second round of Economic Impact Payments (EIP) as part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, there’s a tool for you to track your payment.
People can check the status of both their first and second stimulus payments by using the Get My Payment tool, available in English and Spanish only on IRS.gov.
Authorized by the newly enacted COVID-relief legislation, the second round is generally $600 for singles and $1,200 for married couples filing a joint return. In addition, those with qualifying children will also receive $600 for each qualifying child. Dependents who are 17 and older are not eligible for the child payment.
While many Americans already received an initial direct deposit payment, paper checks began to be mailed on Dec. 30.
“Throughout this challenging year, the IRS has worked around the clock to provide Economic Impact Payments and critical taxpayer services to the American people,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
“We are working swiftly to distribute this second round of payments as quickly as possible. This work continues throughout the holidays and into the new year as we prepare for the upcoming filing season. We urge everyone to visit IRS.gov in the coming days for the latest information on these payments and for important information and assistance with filing their 2021 taxes,” he added.
The IRS emphasized that there is no action required by eligible individuals to receive this second payment. Some Americans may see the direct deposit payment as pending or as a provisional payment in their account before the official payment date of Jan. 4, 2021.
The payments are automatic, and people don’t need to contact their financial institutions or the IRS with payment timing questions, the IRS said.
As with the first round of payments under the CARES Act, most recipients will receive these payments by direct deposit. For Social Security and other beneficiaries who received the first round of payments via Direct Express, they will receive this second payment the same way.
Anyone who received the first round of payments earlier this year but doesn’t receive a payment via direct deposit will generally receive a check or, in some instances, a debit card. For those in this category, the payment should be received within the month of January, according to the IRS.
If additional legislation is enacted to provide for an additional amount, the Economic Impact Payments that have been issued will be “topped up as quickly as possible,” the IRS said in a written statement.
Payments are automatic for eligible taxpayers who filed a 2019 tax return, those who receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits (SSDI), Railroad Retirement benefits as well as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Veterans Affairs beneficiaries who didn’t file a tax return.
Payments are also automatic for anyone who successfully registered for the first payment online at IRS.gov using the agency’s Non-Filers tool by Nov. 21, 2020 or who submitted a simplified tax return that has been processed by the IRS.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
Generally, U.S. citizens and resident aliens who are not eligible to be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s income tax return are eligible for this second payment.
In addition, if you have adjusted gross income for 2019 up to $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns and surviving spouses, you will receive the full amount of the second payment. For filers with income above those amounts, the payment amount is reduced.
IF YOU DON’T RECEIVE ANY STIMULUS MONEY
Eligible individuals who don’t receive an EIP -- either the first or the second payment -- will be able to claim it when they file their 2020 taxes in 2021. The IRS urges taxpayers who didn’t receive a payment to review the eligibility criteria when they file their 2020 taxes. Many people, including recent college graduates, may be eligible to claim it.
People will see the EIP referred to as the Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC) on Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR since it is an advance payment of the RRC.
ARE MORE PEOPLE ELIGIBLE FOR THE SECOND STIMULUS CHECK?
Under the earlier CARES Act, joint returns of couples where only one member of the couple had a Social Security number were generally ineligible for a payment -- unless they were a member of the military. But a new law changes and expands that provision, and more people are now eligible.
In this situation, these families will now be eligible to receive payments for the taxpayers and qualifying children of the family who have work-eligible Social Security numbers. People in this group who don’t receive an EIP can claim this when they file their 2020 taxes under the Recovery Rebate Credit.
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