Member of Russell Bedford International, a global network of independent professional service firms.
Member of Russell Bedford International, a global network of independent professional service firms.
One of the more tax-troubling issues this year has been the distribution of the Economic Impact Payments, also known as stimulus checks. These payments were meant to provide financial assistance to individuals and families struggling during the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, but many people are reporting a missing stimulus check. In this blog we’ll go through the details of the stimulus checks and how to claim a missing check on your 2020 return.
Round One
Congress authorized the first stimulus check payment in March 2020 as part of the CARES Act. Each filer was to receive $1,200 ($2,400 if married and filing a joint return) and $500 per dependent child under age 17. However, the payments were phased out for higher-income taxpayers at a rate of 5% of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI) in excess of a threshold, also based upon the taxpayer’s AGI:
Round Two
As part of the COVID-Related Tax Relief Act (COVIDTRA), Congress authorized another set of stimulus checks to be issued in January 2021. Each filer was to receive $600 ($1,200 if married and filing a joint return) and $600 per dependent child under age 17.
Similar to round one, the stimulus payments are phased out for people with higher incomes. The phase out income levels are the same as round one; however, the payments are more quickly phased out as compared to round one. For example, a married couple filing jointly with AGI of more than $174,000 will not receive the second stimulus payments.
It’s important to note that the stimulus checks are actually a refundable tax credit on the 2020 tax return. To meet the Congressional mandate, the IRS issued the payments in advance based upon each family’s makeup and income on a prior tax return.
If you are among those eligible for a check who haven’t yet received it, or the amount you received is less than what you are allowed, take heart. Since it is really a credit on the 2020 tax return, you can claim your missing or additional amount when you file your 2020 return. But this means that if you wouldn’t normally have to file a return, you will need to do so in order to get your payment.
However, here is yet another potential problem: when you claim the rebate credit on your 2020 return, it will be based upon your 2020 AGI and family makeup, which may or may not be to your benefit. Here are some situations that you may encounter:
These are only a few examples of the many situations that a change in filing status, dependents, and/or AGI can create with regard to the recovery rebate credit when filing your 2020 tax return. One good thing is that Congress wrote the law so that if the payment you received was larger than the recovery rebate credit you are entitled to on your 2020 return, you will not have to pay back any of the difference. On the other hand, if your check was less than what’s allowed on your 2020 return, you can claim the difference as a credit on the 2020 return.
Be sure to keep the confirmation that the IRS sent you showing the amount of your stimulus check; you’ll need it when preparing your 2020 return.
If Cray Kaiser is preparing your tax return this year, we will automatically take care of reconciling the advance rebate with the amount determined on your 2020 return. Please call us at 630-953-4900 if you have specific questions about your missing stimulus check.
Please note that this blog is based on tax laws effective in January 2021, and may not contain later amendments. Please contact Cray Kaiser for most recent information.
