Stimulus Payment One, 2020 Tax Return
Attention: This page is the for the first stimulus or Economic Impact Payment during 2020. The stimulus payments are no longer being issued and the only way to claim the first two is by filing a 2020 Return. This page is only for informational purposes. Use the second stimulus calculator to determine if you qualified and what your second stimulus payment might have been as the result of the Tax Relief Act of 2020 passed in December 2020. Claim the third stimulus payment by filing a 2021 Return which also cannot be e-filed.
Start 1st Stimulus Calculator
See simple return instructions to claim any federal stimulus payments.
Important: You cannot claim any stimulus payments by filing any other year tax return. The stimulus payments were only claimed on 2020 and 2021 Taxes; you have three years from the deadline for these returns to claim any missing stimulus payments:
- Stimulus 1 and 2 expire on April 15, 2024.
- Stimulus 3 expires on April 15, 2025.
If you missed the deadline for the first Economic Impact Payment - EIP - registration, you would need to file a 2020 Return if one the following applies to you:
- Did not register and did not get the Economic Impact Payment in 2020 or
- You received only a partial payment of the maximum credit of $1,200, or $2,400 if married filing jointly, plus $500 for each qualifying child.
In that case, when you file your taxes via Form 1040 or 1040-SR, you might qualify for the Recovery Rebate Credit. You will need the amount of payment in the letter from the IRS Notice 1444, Your Economic Impact Payment. If applicable, make sure you keep and save this letter with your 2020 tax records.
First Stimulus Payment
The IRS has stated that, as of August 19, 2020, most people had received their EIP or stimulus payment. This includes eligible taxpayers who filed a 2019 or 2018 Tax Return and those who usually do not have to file, but receive Social Security, SSI, SSDI, RRB, VA benefits, or do not have any taxable income.
Use the free COVIDucator to get personal results on what the amount of your stimulus check may have been before claiming it on your taxes.
1. On April 2, 2020 the U.S. Treasury announced that Social Security recipients who are not typically required to file a tax return and did not file in 2018 or 2019 did not to need take action or need to file a 2018 or 2019 Taxes and should have received their payment directly to their bank account. Otherwise, file 2020 Taxes.
2. Individuals who are not typically required to file (Social Security income only, supplemental security income, etc.) should file a simple tax return to claim the stimulus payments via the Recovery Rebate Credit.
The table below is for informational purposes as the IRS is no longer issuing stimulus payments. The deadlines for 2019 and 2020 returns no longer apply as they have passed.
The federal 2020
income tax return due date was October 15, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the original April 15, 2021 deadline was extended to May 17, 2021. Taxpayers are generally given until October 15 following the April deadline to e-file taxes.
Can everybody file later?
The deadline to file your 2020 Return and pay your taxes has passed. Any taxpayer (individual, a trust, an estate, a corporation, or any type of unincorporated business entity) can still file their 2019 or 2020 Return on paper and
pay your taxes as soon as you can or
claim your refund.
Some states did adjust their deadlines to May 17, 2021, however this has now passed.
Select your particular state(s) here and file your 2020 State Return is you have not done so already.
Did I have to be ill, self-isolated, or impacted by COVID-19 to qualify to postpone filing or paying taxes by July 15, 2020?
The date has now passed; all taxpayers were given the extended deadline to file or e-file a 2019 Return originally due April 15, 2020.
Can I file an extension for my stimulus?
What if I did not pay my taxes by July 15, 2020?
What if I already filed my 2019 IRS Return, but have not paid my taxes?
Pay as soon as you can in order to avoid interest and late payment penalties. On Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR, the tax payment amount is on line 23; on Form 1040-NR on line 75; on Form 1120 on line 35. Only after July 15, 2020 will you
face late payment penalties and interest charges on any amount remaining unpaid by that date. For 2020 Returns, this was after May 17, 2021.
What if I already filed my 2019 IRS Return and scheduled my IRS Tax payments to be paid by April 15, 2020, can I change to July 15, 2020?
1. Your scheduled April 15, 2020 IRS tax payment would not have been automatically rescheduled to July 15.
2. If you scheduled a payment via an authorized electronic funds withdrawal, you may cancel or revoke your scheduled tax payment(s) by contacting the U.S. Treasury Financial Agent at 1-888-353-4537. Note: You must call to make a payment cancellation or change request no later than 11:59 p.m. EST two business days prior to the scheduled payment date.
3. Credit card or debit card payments can be canceled by contacting your card processor to cancel the card payment.
4. Scheduled tax payments via the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System - EFTPS - sign into EFTPS and click on payments from the home page, then click cancel a tax payment - at least two business days before the scheduled payment date - from the left menu and follow the instructions.
5. For payments scheduled through IRS Direct Pay, use your confirmation number from the payment to access the look up a payment feature. Then you can modify or cancel a scheduled payment at least two business days before the scheduled payment date(s). The email notification you received when you scheduled the payment will contain the confirmation number.
Yes, payments due between April 1 and July 15, 2020 were suspended and the agreement did not default as a result; interest continued to accrue on any unpaid installment balances.
Yes, the deadline for 2019 IRS contributions was changed from April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020.
Yes, the deadline to make HSA or MSA contributions was changed from April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020.
In order to receive the EITC Credit, taxpayers had until July 15, 2020, to verify that they qualified for the
Earned Income Tax Credit or to verify their income. If not completed by July 15, 2020, taxpayers might no longer qualify for the EITC.
No, only deadlines regarding 2019 Tax Returns changed. Thus, 2016 Tax Year related deadlines were not changed.
Businesses or other entities with a May 15 or June 15 deadline, can they now file by July 15, 2020?
No, only if the deadline was originally on April 15, 2020.
Is payroll or excise tax affected?
No, normal filing, payment, and deposit due dates were not changed.
Did the deadline for information returns change?
No, this deadline was not affected.
Monitor your stimulus payment.
You can no longer track a stimulus payment as the IRS is no longer issuing them; the IRS tool to track your stimulus payment is archived and no longer works.
Call the IRS about the status of your Economic Impact Payment.
What could your stimulus check have been? Use the
COVIDucator to find out.
Stimulus payments are no longer being issued, but the information below is how the Recovery Rebate Credit is calculated.
1. If your 2020 Tax Return
filing status was single and your
AGI or adjusted gross income was below $75,000:
$1,200 For every $100 in AGI above $75,000, the payment reduces by $5.00 up to a maximum AGI of $99,000. You cannot be a
dependent of another taxpayer's return. Americans with very low 2020 income are encouraged to
file a 2020 tax return to also take advantage of the refundable
Earned Income Tax Credit, the
Child Tax Credit, and the COVID-19 Recovery Rebate.
2.
Married couples with an AGI below $150,000 would receive
$2,400. After that, payments will reduce up to a maximum AGI of $198,000. You cannot be a dependent of another taxpayer's return.
Married couples will also receive $500 per child under age 17.
3. The
head of household filing status or single parents with children with an AGI below $112,500:
$1,200. After that, payments will reduce up to a maximum AGI of $136,500.
Head of household will receive $500 per child under age 17.
Calculate your stimulus payment amounts: start with stimulus one.
4. If you had no or little income during 2019 or 2020 and you would normally not file a return, find more information on how to claim missed stimulus payments: Instructions on how to prepare and file for the Recovery Rebate Credit for missing stimulus payments.
If your address has changed and it's different than what is on your latest IRS Tax Return, submit Form 8822 to the IRS.
Start and Complete Form 8822 now. The Form 8822 will load into the PDF Editor and you can complete, sign, and download the PDF form there. The mailing addresses are on page 2.
How do I know which child qualifies for this payment?
Generally, if your child qualified for the
Child Tax Credit, you will qualify for the child Recovery Rebate Payment. Plus, your child must be a
dependent on your tax return and be under the age of 17. Other dependents who are not children do not qualify for the COVID-19 stimulus payment.
How will I receive the Stimulus Money from the IRS or Government?
1. The IRS would have sent your money to the direct bank deposit account you entered on your 2019 Tax Return due by July 15, 2020.
2. If you did not enter direct bank deposit information, the IRS may have mailed you a free, prepaid debit card or a paper check. Note that these will have arrived in a plain envelope from
Money Network Cardholder Services. The Visa name will be on the front, and the issuing bank, MetaBank, N.A., will be on the back of the card. The card included information stating that it is the Economic Impact Payment (EIP) Card.
3. If you had selected to pay your tax preparation fees via your tax refund (e-Collect or other service) and direct bank deposit for your tax refund, the Treasury will have transmitted stimulus money via direct bank deposit to your personal bank account. e-Collect was not supposed to be involved in these direct deposits from the IRS. If you used e-Collect and for any reason your refund was sent to you via check in the mail (an incorrect routing or bank account was given), then this will be the method that you will receive your stimulus check from the IRS. If you used e-Collect and received your refund via a bank card, then you will get your stimulus money via a check from the IRS.
4. A 2019
IRS Tax Return Extension was not sufficient nor did it count as a completed and IRS accepted 2019 Tax Return in regards to stimulus payment consideration or requirement.
5. If you did not file a 2019 Tax Return, the IRS will have looked at the information on your 2018 Tax Return and either transferred to your bank account or mailed a check to your address on the return.
What if the IRS did not have my latest direct deposit bank information on record?
The IRS together with the Department of Treasury made the
Get My Payment tool available so taxpayers could monitor their payments.
This IRS tool is no longer functional as the IRS is no longer issuing stimulus payments. Unfortunately, there was no way to add direct deposit information, so any payments would have been mailed if that information was not available to the IRS.
What if owe back taxes or past due debt to a federal or state agency? What if I owe past due child support payments will I get the recovery rebate?
Nearly all administrative offsets were turned off that generally might reduce IRS or state tax refunds for taxpayers with past tax debts, or who were behind on other payments to federal or state governments, including student loan payments. Exception: Past due child support payments that states reported to the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS were offset.
I am a college student, can I expect stimulus money?
Only if you are not considered a dependent of your parents on their 2018, 2019, or 2020 Tax Return. In general, if you are a full-time college student 24 or younger and your parent(s) provide more than half of your support, you are considered a dependent.
By when can I expect the CARES ACT Money?
The Treasury set a goal of processing the first payments in the week of April 6, 2020. If a payment was not received, the only way to claim it is by
filing a 2020 Return.
Track the status of your COVID-19 stimulus payment?
What if I have very little to no income or I am on means-tested federal benefits like supplemental Social Security Income, will I get this stimulus money?
Yes, individuals with low or no income or supplemental Social Security income can now prepare and file a tax return and claim Stimulus Payments via the Recovery Rebate Credit.
Recovery Rebate Credit instructions.
Will I have to apply or file a tax return to get the CARES ACT Stimulus Money?
Will I get taxed in 2021 on the stimulus money?
Generally, your Stimulus Check CARES ACT money is not taxable and is treated like other refundable tax credits, such as the Child Tax Credit. In addition, if the tax credit amount you qualify based on 2020 AGI is less than what you qualify for based on your 2019 Tax Return, it does not have to be paid back. On the other hand, if a taxpayer's 2020 AGI is substantially higher than the 2018 or 2019 AGI, the taxpayer might have to pay back some or all of the money after April 15, 2021. This pay back might only apply to a very small number of taxpayers.
What if I only receive
Social Security Income and as a result have not filed in years? Or, I am a veteran with only veterans’ disability payment.
On April 2, 2020 the US Treasury announced that Social Security recipients who are not typically required to file a tax return and did not file in 2018 or 2019
do not to need take an action nor need to file a 2018 or 2019 tax return, and will receive their payment directly to their bank account. The IRS will use the information from your Form SSA-1099 or Form RRB-1099 to generate the payment, which will either be directly deposited into your bank account or sent to you via check in the mail. This includes senior citizens, Social Security recipients or SSI incl. people on SSDI and railroad retirees who are not otherwise required to file a tax return. Since the IRS does not have dependent information for this group of recipients, each person would receive $1,200 per person, without the additional amount for any dependents at this time. More details on
Social Security income and tax returns.
Individuals with low or no income or supplemental Social Security income can now prepare and a Tax Return to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit if they did not receive stimulus check one and or two payments. Recovery Rebate instructions.
As reported by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), almost half a million taxpayers did not receive their full payment due to complications over distributing the correct funds to non-filers with dependents. The IRS was working on adjusting amounts for those that received incorrect amounts to make sure they receive what is entitled to them. If you generally do not have to file an IRS Income Tax Return, but you filed a simple or stimulus tax return in 2020 for Tax Year 2019 as a non-filer or
Social Security Income recipient and did not claim a
qualifying dependent (or you did for other reasons, but did not receive the stimulus payment amount you think you were entitled to), you might have to file another tax return in 2021 for Tax Year 2020 in order to claim this dependent and/or adjust your 2020 Stimulus Payment. All other taxpayers who generally file tax returns and their stimulus payments did not reflect dependents or other information in the payment amounts can adjust this with their
2020 Tax Returns which can no longer be e-filed if your simple return has been accepted and you want to make a change to this simple return, please
prepare a tax amendment now.
Tip: Add a letter and explain why you are filing this amendment. In the explanation part of the amendment, report that you mistakenly did not include dependents on your filed return. For more questions about your stimulus payment amount, call the IRS for the status of your Economic Impact or Stimulus Payment at 1-800-919-9835.
Ask one of our Taxperts if you have further questions about COVID-19, taxes, and the stimulus check money.
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