Employed full or part time? Unemployed? A temporary or gig worker? Retired or disabled? Receive public benefits? Have no income? Most U.S. residents – under certain income levels – will receive an economic impact payment if they are not claimed as a dependent of another taxpayer and have a Social Security number.

Distribution began last week, but the precise date you will see payments in your account depends on how long individual banks take to process direct deposits, according to a press release from the House Ways and Means Committee. The IRS will first send the money to individuals for whom the agency has direct deposit information (estimated at nearly 60 million people). The remainder will be mailed as checks. That process is expected to begin April 20 but could take until the fall to complete.

Ericksen Krentel professionals are available to help you. For tax credit and other tax-related matters, contact Kevin Neyrey at kneyrey@ericksenkrentel.com or Kenny Eldridge at keldridge@ericksenkrentel.com.

You can click on any provision in the list below to go directly to that summary (direct link feature may not work on mobile devices):

• What exactly is the payment?
• Tracking your payment and updating direct deposit information
• Watch out for scams!
• How much will you get?

What Exactly is the Payment?

The economic impact payment technically is a 2020 credit, but it’s being paid now to stimulate the economy and help taxpayers who lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.

The credit will not have to be repaid. If you were phased out because 2018 or 2019 income was above the threshold, but your 2020 income is below that level, individuals will receive the additional amount due on their 2020 return. If the opposite is true, individuals will not have to repay any of the advance. None of the credit will be taxed.
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Tracking Your Payment and Updating Direct Deposit Information 

The IRS, working with the Treasury Department, unveiled the Get My Payment feature to let taxpayers check on their economic impact payment date and update direct deposit information. The feature, which can be found by clicking here, will show the projected date when a deposit has been scheduled, like the “Where’s My Refund tool” many taxpayers are already familiar with.

Get My Payment is updated once daily, usually overnight. The IRS urges taxpayers to only check the portal once a day given the large number of people receiving economic impact payments.

Taxpayers only need a few pieces of information to quickly obtain the status of their payment and, where needed, provide their bank account information. Having a copy of the most recent tax return can help speed the process.

• For taxpayers to track the status of their payment, this feature will show taxpayers the payment amount, scheduled delivery date by direct deposit or paper check and if a payment hasn’t been scheduled. They will need to enter basic information including:
  • Social Security Number;
  • Date of birth, and;
  • Mailing address used on their tax return.
• Taxpayers who need to add their bank account information to speed receipt of their payment will need to provide the following additional information:
  • Adjusted Gross Income from their most recent tax return submitted, either 2019 or 2018;
  • Refund or amount owed from latest filed tax return; and
  • Bank account type, account and routing numbers.

Get My Payment cannot update bank account information after an Economic Impact Payment has been scheduled for delivery. To help protect against potential fraud, the tool also does not allow people to change bank account information already on file with the IRS.
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Watch Out for Scams!

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a rise in scam-type calls and email phishing attempts. These contacts can lead to tax-related fraud and identity theft. That applies to surprise emails that appear to be coming from the IRS. To protect your information, do open them or click on attachments or links.

Most importantly, the IRS does not call individuals to verify or provide your financial information so you can get an economic impact payment or your refund faster, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig reaffirmed Thursday, April 2, 2020.
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How Much Will You Get? 

Here’s how much the payments will be:

• Eligible individuals will receive up to $1,200.
• Eligible married couples will receive up to $2,400.
• Eligible individuals will receive up to $500 for each qualifying child.

Taxpayers will receive a reduced payment if their adjusted gross income is between:

• $75,000 and $99,000 if their filing status was single or married filing separately.
• $112,500 and $136,500 for head of household.
• $150,000 and $198,000 if their filing status was married filing jointly.
• Click here to read more about the phaseouts.

Eligible taxpayers who filed tax returns for either 2019 or 2018 will automatically receive an economic impact payment.

Payments will also be automatic for people who receive Social Security retirement, disability (SSDI), or survivor benefits or Railroad Retirement benefits who don’t normally file a tax return. Those receiving these benefits who aren’t claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return or required to file a tax return are eligible for a $1,200 payment. However, people in this group who have qualifying children younger than 17 will need to provide additional information to claim the $500 payment per child.

Economic impact payments will be available through December 31, 2020.

More information about economic impact payments is available on the IRS website by clicking here.

As questions or concerns arise, we ask that you contact us so we can address them as quickly as possible to ensure we continue to meet your needs. As a reminder, you can always monitor our COVID-19 Updates webpage by clicking here for the latest or monitoring our accounts on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.

About Ericksen Krentel

Ericksen Krentel CPAs and Consultants, founded in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1960 with offices in New Orleans and Mandeville, believes that serving as the clients’ most trusted adviser is grounded in going beyond the numbers.

That includes helping clients achieve their business and personal financial goals by providing innovative and exceptional services in the following areas: audit and assurance services, tax compliance and planning, outsourced CFO services and business valuations for a variety of industries; employee benefit plan audits; fraud and forensic accounting; business planning; IT consulting; loss calculations; and estate planning.

Learn more at www.ericksenkrentel.com.

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