This week, Senate Republicans unveiled their stimulus plan, dubbed the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act. The cost is a staggering $1,000,000,000,000 ($1 trillion). Here’s a quick run down. Stimulus checks The Act proposes payments of $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for couples, which begins to phase out at incomes of $75,000 … Read more
On June 25, 2020, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore, and Senator Maria Cantwell, D-Wash introduced legislation to expand affordable housing among admist the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis. The bill is known as the Emergency Affordable Housing Act Senator Wyden describes why this legislation is needed: “The lack of affordable housing was … Read more
The IRS largely shut down in late March due to Covid-19. The shutdown has resulted in massive backlogs for the agency. IRS service centers are now open in Kentucky, Texas, and Utah earlier this month. Some Austin, Texas facilities were temporarily closed after an employee tested positive for Covid-19. While the IRS has begun processing … Read more
The IRS has stated that 159 million stimulus checks have been processed in the past two months, totaling almost $267 billion. Out of those 159 million payments, 120 were sent via direct deposit, 35 million by check, and 4 million by pre-paid debit cards. Non-filers have until October 15 to claim their payments The IRS … Read more
On its website, the IRS listed some common scenarios to help explain why your stimulus check was less than expected. You did not file a 2019 tax return or the IRS has not processed your 2019 return The IRS automatically sent payments to taxpayers who filed their 2018 or 2019 tax returns. The IRS used … Read more
On May 12, 2020, House Democrats introduced the HEROES Act which intends to “protect workers and uplift families during the COVID-19 crisis.” Key measures include income and benefits security, more stimulus checks, support for the unemployed, child and family care for essential workers, and emergency assistance for individuals and families. The Act would cost $3 … Read more
Tens of thousands of deceased taxpayers and incarcerated taxpayers received stimulus payments which may need to be returned. The IRS updated its FAQ on May 6, 2020 to provide guidance for such taxpayers. Deceased taxpayers are ineligible for payment Any payments that were made to persons who died before receipt of the payment should be … Read more
On April 26th, the Internal Revenue Service announced significant upgrades to the “Get My Payment” tool and encourages taxpayers to check out the tool again. The enhancements, which started last week and continued through the weekend, adjusted several items related to the online tool, which debuted on April 15. The additional changes will help millions … Read more
Many people have received the “wrong amount” of stimulus payment. Here are a couple of things you can try if you’re one of those taxpayers. Calculate the correct amount To begin, you’ll need your AGI from the last tax return you filed. Then either use do your calculation or check out our stimulus payment calculator. … Read more
On 4/15/20, the IRS put up a ‘Get My Payment’ tool that allows taxpayers to check on the status of their economic stimulus payments. This application will give you information about your payment status, payment type, and whether the IRS needs more information from you, including bank account information. The Get My Payment tool can … Read more
