Tracking The Status Of Your Federal Coronavirus Economic Impact Payment
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/AP) -- Across the San Francisco Bay Area, families, furloughed workers and others have begun checking their bank accounts to see if their payment from the federal economic impact fund have been deposited.
On Wednesday, the Internal Revenue Service launched a special section of their website that will allow you to track those payments. The website was overwhelmed early Wednesday with requests for information and the site's response was slow.
Here are answers to some of your frequently asked questions:
WILL I HAVE TO REPAY THE PAYMENT?
Videos and online reports claiming that millions of Americans will have to repay the relief checks they receive from the federal government under the $2.2 trillion coronavirus economic recovery bill are not true.
The government began issuing the one-time payments this week. Most adults who earned up to $75,000 will see a $1,200 payout, while married couples who made up to $150,000 can expect to get $2,400. Parents will get payments of $500 per child. The checks will be directly deposited into bank accounts or mailed to households, depending on how you've filed your tax returns in the past.
The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service, which are working to deliver the money to people, confirmed to The Associated Press that households will not have to pay back the money in next year's tax filing.
"This is not an advance and there is absolutely no obligation to pay it back," Treasury spokeswoman Patricia McLaughlin said in an email.
WHO IS GETTING A CHECK?
Any adult earning up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income who has a valid Social Security number will receive a $1,200 payment.
The payment steadily declines for those who make more and phases out for those who earn more than $99,000. For married couples, both adults receive $1,200, with the phase-out starting at $150,000 of income and falling to zero for couples who earn $198,000.
Parents will also get payments of $500 for each eligible child; this is generally those 16 years old or younger.
For heads of household with one child, the benefit starts to decline at $112,500 and falls to zero at $136,500.
Even those who only receive Social Security or other government benefit programs can receive a check.
WHO DOESN'T GET ONE?
High-income filers are excluded, as is anyone without a valid Social Security number.
If someone can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return, such as an adult child or student, they will not get a payment.
People who are not a U.S. citizen, U.S. national and do not yet have a green card or have not met the IRS resident requirement know as "substantial presence test" aren't eligible. People who filed Form 1040-PR or 1040-SS for 2019 are not eligible; these are IRS forms used for certain types of self-employment income in Puerto Rico.
WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET ONE?
For most people, nothing.
Checks will arrive via direct deposit if a taxpayer included the relevant information on their tax return filed this year or last.
Some Americans are not required to file a tax return — such as low-income taxpayers, Social Security recipients, some veterans and people with disabilities.
After some back and forth with lawmakers, the Treasury and IRS ultimately decided Social Security recipients and railroad retirees, who aren't typically required to file taxes, would not need to file a simple tax return to get the payment.
Anyone else who isn't typically required to file taxes and does not receive Social Security will still need to file an abbreviated return to get the payment. On Friday, the Treasury unveiled an online tool that allows these non-filers to more quickly register to get their check.
If someone didn't file a tax return for either the 2018 or 2019 tax year, the IRS is urging them to file as soon as they can.
And for people who filed taxes for those years but did not include direct deposit information, the IRS plans to have a "Get My Payment" app available later this week that will allow them to add their bank information so their payment can be deposited.
For everyone else, the government will mail a check.
WHEN WILL I GET THE PAYMENT?
Direct deposits began this weekend. The Treasury said that tens of millions will receive direct deposit payments by Wednesday.
Everyone who gets a payment will receive written notice within 15 days after the payment that specifies how much you received and how it was delivered. The IRS also said the "Get My Payment" app will allow taxpayers to track the status of their payment.
A memo from lawmakers earlier in the month said that paper checks wouldn't start being mailed until May. And because the paper checks would be issued at a rate of about 5 million a week, the process could take through August.
The Treasury, however, said that paper checks payments would begin later in April. It did not confirm an exact date or how long it would take to complete those distributions. But it did say Monday that it expects "a large majority of eligible Americans" will receive the payment within the next two weeks.
All payments will be made based on income, with lower-income individuals receiving payment first.
WHY SO LONG?
It's a tough wait for those who are struggling financially.
However, the Treasury and the IRS need to sort through a tremendous amount of data and create a complex distribution method plan quite quickly, said Mark Mazur, director of the nonprofit Tax Policy Center. The IRS' outdated technology could also slow things down.
"For the vast majority of people this will work, it may not be as fast as they may like but it will work." Mazur said.
Another program overseen by Treasury, the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses, also just began issuing payments over the weekend.
BE AWARE
Additionally, the IRS is urging people to be on the lookout for any scams related to the economic impact payments.
The IRS will not call, text, email or contact people via social media asking for personal or bank account information ever. It also warns taxpayers to watch out for emails with attachments or links claiming to have special information about economic impact payments or refunds.
© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
