A message from IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig:
“Social Security beneficiaries who are not typically required to file tax returns will not need to file an abbreviated tax return to receive an Economic Impact Payment. Instead, payments will be automatically deposited into their bank accounts. People with an adjusted gross income of up to $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns will receive the full $1,200 payment and up to $500 for each qualifying child. The IRS will use the information on the Form SSA-1099 or Form RRB-1099 to generate Economic Impact Payments to recipients of benefits reflected in the Form SSA-1099 or Form RRB-1099 who are not required to file a tax return and did not file a return for 2018 or 2019. This includes senior citizens, Social Security recipients and railroad retirees who are not otherwise required to file a tax return, others would receive a paper check.”
Here’s what you need to know: if you filed a tax return for 2018 or 2019 you will get a $1200 check, or $3400 for a family of four without doing anything. The IRS already has your social security number, address, bank account and routing number. They will just deposit your check automatically into your account and may have already done so.
If you did not file a tax return in the last two years, you are still eligible for the payment but may have to wait for several months for a check to arrive in the mail.
There is a third option for non-filers or new filers: just go on line to IRS.gov, click on the Get Coronavirus Tax Relief icon and navigate to the Get My Payment instructions. They are not complicated.
Or you can go directly to Get My Payment at this URL: https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here
To help everyone check on the status of their payments, the IRS is building a second new tool expected to be available for use by April 17. Get My Payment will provide people with the status of their payment, including the date their payment is scheduled to be deposited into their bank account or mailed to them.
An additional feature on Get My Payment will allow eligible people a chance to provide their bank account information so they can receive their payment more quickly rather than waiting for a paper check. This feature will be unavailable if the Economic Impact Payment has already been scheduled for delivery.
