I’m A Nonfiler Do I Have To File Taxes This Year To Receive My Stimulus Money
A nonfiler is a person who isn’t required to pay taxes to the IRS during tax season. The requirement to file a tax return depends on your gross income, which is all income you receive in the form of money, goods, property and services that aren’t tax-exempt .
People who are considered nonfilers don’t need to do anything to receive a third stimulus check, according to the IRS. However, if you’re claiming missing stimulus money in a Recovery Rebate Credit, even nonfilers will have to file a tax return this year. You may be able to use a special form and file for free. You will, however, need some specific information.
If you’re age 65 or older, you should file taxes under the following circumstances:
- Single filer with at least $13,850 in gross income.
- Head of household with at least $20,000 in gross income.
- Qualifying widow age 65 or older with at least $25,700 in gross income.
In the 2019 tax year, the IRS introduced Form 1040-SR, US Tax Return for Seniors. This form is basically the same as Form 1040, but has larger text and some helpful information for older taxpayers.
What Was The Timeline For The Third Stimulus Check
Once the bill moved through all the hoops, eligible people started seeing their stimulus payments before March 2021 was over.7 The IRS and U.S. Treasury have been quick with delivering past stimulus checksDecember 2020s payments reached most folks by direct deposit within a week of then President Donald Trump signing the legislation.8
How Much Is The Third Stimulus Check
The third round of stimulus checks included a $1,400-per-person direct payment. This amount topped off the $600 payment that most eligible folks already got as part of a previous COVID-19 relief package. Congress passed that one at the end of December 2020 for a total of $2,000 in stimulus payments per person. So, how much should you have gotten in your third stimulus check? Find out with our stimulus calculator!
The stimulus payments are one part of Bidens much larger COVID-19 relief plan that also expanded the Child Tax Credit, extended unemployment benefits for people who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, increased the Child and Dependent Care Credit, and provided more aid for renters and landlords.6 Yep, its a mouthful.
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What If My Spouse Or Ex
If you did not get all or some portion of your Economic Impact Payments you can file a 2020 tax return and claim these amounts on line 30 of the form. The IRS is referring to this as the recovery rebate and will allow you to claim any of the EIPs that you did not get in advance. You may get a denial letter from the IRS, but that is the opportunity to reply and explain your situation to the IRS. In this situation, Vermonters with a low income can contact us for help at the Vermont Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic by filling out our form or calling 1-800-889-2047.
Is The $1400 Stimulus Check For Seniors Real
Every citizen wants to get better off in any financial crisis, and a stimulus check is also another way to go for the seniors. As the Senior Citizens League has promoted it, but there is no response from the government. It means it is a hope and expectation of the senior citizens from the government.
Also Check: 4th Stimulus Check For Single Person
Maine: $850 Direct Relief Payments
Gov. Janet Mills signed a supplemental budget on April 20 to authorize direct relief payments of $850 for Maine taxpayers.
Full-time residents with a federal adjusted gross income of less than $100,000 are eligible. Couples filing jointly will receive one relief check per taxpayer for a total of $1,700.
Taxpayers are eligible for the payment regardless of whether they owe income tax to the state.
Residents who did not file a state tax return for 2021 can file through Oct. 31 to claim their payment.
The one-time payments, which are being funded by the states surplus, started rolling out via mail in June to the address on your 2021 Maine tax return.
The supplemental budget also includes an increased benefit for Maines earned income tax credit recipients.
Read more: Everything You Need To Know About Maine Stimulus Checks
Stimulus Check Update: Here’s Who May Be Getting Another $1400 Check
by Dana George |Published on Oct. 18, 2021
Image source: Getty Images
If one group has its way, there will be at least one more round of stimulus checks.
Senior citizens are among the most economically vulnerable in the country. A letter sent by The Senior Citizens League Chairman Rick Delaney to Congressional leaders illustrates the situation faced by some seniors. The letter reads in part:
“We’ve heard from thousands of them who have exhausted their retirement savings, who have started eating just one meal a day, stated cutting their pills in half because they can’t afford their prescription drugs, to list just a few of the drastic steps so many have had to take because of what inflation has done to them this year.”
“Many have written to us that ‘our government has forgotten about us.'”
Delaney’s group is proposing another $1,400 stimulus check for senior citizens. While Social Security checks are due to go up 5.9% in 2022, representing the largest cost-of-living adjustment in 39 years, inflation threatens to swallow the bulk of the increase.
Also Check: What Was The First Stimulus Check Amount
Who Is Eligible For The Third Stimulus Check
For the first two stimulus payments, single taxpayers earning up to $75,000 a year and couples earning up to $150,000 a year were able to get the full amount. Parents also received stimulus payments for each dependent child under age 17.9,10
Those income limits didnt change for the third stimulus payment even though it targeted the payments to lower income earners. Under the American Rescue Plan, payments phased out for single filers making between $75,000 and $80,000 and couples making between $150,000 and $160,000.11
Eligibility for the third stimulus check also expanded to cover any non-child dependents. That means taxpayers who supported certain eligible dependents age 17 and older might have received more money too.12
Heres Who Will Get A Fourth Stimulus Check Worth $600 Now
Farmworkers, meatpacking workers, and grocery store workers will all be eligible for a $600 stimulus check. The money is coming from a $700 million federal program.
At this point, there are execution questions: Like, how will the money be distributed? Federal officials havent outlined the way the money would be distributed to those workers.
The IRS, who has handed out large portions of stimulus money to date has not provided any new information on whether they will be sending out fourth stimulus checks to these groups under the Biden directive.
The US government is preparing to send out direct payments to help individuals amid the coronavirus pandemic
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A Push For More Stimulus
To help those on Social Security get through, TSCL is not only calling on Washington for help, but they’re asking the public to add their names to a public petition. The petition reads:
“I want Social Security recipients to receive a $1,400 emergency stimulus check to cope during this unprecedented inflationary year. Social Security benefits are one of the few types of income in retirement adjusted for inflation. But soaring inflation has taken a toll on household finances of retired and disabled Social Security recipients. In 2021, Social Security benefits increased by just 1.3%, raising the average benefit by only about $20 a month. But about 86% of Social Security recipients surveyed say their expenses increased by much more than that amount.
As one of the many supporters of TSCL who reside in your constituency, I strongly urge you that now is the time that you must support an emergency $1,400 stimulus check to Social Security recipients.”
Given the fight currently raging over President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan and what’s going to happen to the debt ceiling, no one expects Congress to approve a fourth round of stimulus checks for senior citizens this year. Still, the hope is that as public sentiment grows, Congress will take notice and address the issue next year.
What Can I Do If I Have Not Received My Eip Money By Those Deadlines
If you have not received all or some portion of your Economic Impact Payments by the deadlines above, you will have to file a 2020 tax return and claim these amounts. You claim them on line 30 of the 2020 Form 1040 as a “Recovery Rebate Credit“. This is another name for the EIP stimulus payments. If you did not get all or a portion of the EIP payments in advance, then you can claim them on line 30 of your tax return for 2020.
Read Also: Who Will Get Stimulus Checks
Which Cities Are Giving Out 4th Stimulus Checks
Thats rightcities are now getting in on the stimulus check action too . See if your town made the list:
Low-income residents of The Windy City have been given stimulus checks at random. You read that right. Chicago will give out $500 checks to 5,000 people each month throughout 2022. Theyll be selected at random for this stimulus lottery.20
Like Chicago, LA is handing out payments to low-income residents for a year. Their program, called BIG:LEAP, will give 3,200 randomly chosen people $1,000 each month.21
Pittsburghs program is called the Assured Cash Experiment and gives 200 low-income residents $500 each monthfor two years. The program will spend $2.5 million on lower-income zip codes.22
The close-by neighbors of LA are getting a stimulus program of their own called the Revive Santa Ana Resident Stimulus Program. It will give out $6 million to neighborhoods that fall below the poverty level in Santa Ana. Payments of $300 will be loaded onto prepaid debit cards and given out door to door to about 20,000 residents.23
Seattle has one of the more generous payouts on the list. The Seattle Relief Fund is a $16 million program that gives payments of $1,0003,000 to low-income residents of the Emerald City.24
Social Security Cash Up To $1800 To Land In Millions Of Bank Accounts In Days
The proposal came after it was heard from many seniors who shared their hardships in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Shannon Benton with the Senior Citizens League told The Sun: “We have received hundreds of emails from people concerned about making ends meet.
“The high cost of living adjustment, for many, just exacerbated their financial woes by bumping their income above program limits to qualify for medicare savings programs and extra help.”
The Senior Citizens League isn’t the only one that is trying to get Congress’s attention.
Recommended Reading: New York Stimulus Check 4
Focus On What Goes On At Your Housenot The White House
Its hard not to worry as you watch billions and trillions of dollars fly out the window in Washington, D.C. And while those things matter, the truth is, you have ultimate control over your money and what choices are made in your house. You have the power to improve your money situation right nowtodaywithout having to rely on the government.
And it all starts with a budget. Because when you make a plan for your money, you’re more likely to make progress and hit your financial goalsstimulus check or not. So, go ahead and create your budget with EveryDollar today! Take control of your future and get the hope you need.
About the author
Ramsey Solutions
Ramsey Solutions has been committed to helping people regain control of their money, build wealth, grow their leadership skills, and enhance their lives through personal development since 1992. Millions of people have used our financial advice through 22 books published by Ramsey Press, as well as two syndicated radio shows and 10 podcasts, which have over 17 million weekly listeners.Learn More.
When Was The Third Stimulus Check Approved
By now, youve heard the history of how a third stimulus check happened: Just as most Americans received their $600 second stimulus check from the U.S. Treasury during the coronavirus pandemic, President Joe Bidens $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan included a third stimulus payment of $1,400.
The American Rescue Plan passed first in the House and then Senate and was signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021. Lawmakers wanted the bill to go into effect before some COVID-19-related unemployment benefits expired in mid-March 2021.5And they hit their deadline just in the nick of time.
Recommended Reading: When Did The Second Stimulus Checks Go Out
Other Help For Social Security Claimants
The Social Security Administration looks at the cost of living and makes any necessary increases to Social Security benefits.
This practice has been going on since the 1950s to offset inflation for people living on a fixed income.
The cost-of-living adjustment for 2022 increased to 5.9 percent, one of the biggest on record.
The Social Security Administration is estimating that the number could rise by another eight percent next year, but no official decision will come until later in the year.
It does mean about 70million Americans will almost certainly receive a significant monthly increase in their benefits in 2023.
However, based on the most recent Consumer Price Index report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which showed inflation in June surging 9.1% from the previous year, the Senior Citizens League said the COLA for 2023 could be about 10.5%.
Keep in mind, despite the increases each year, high inflation has lowered Social Security claimant’s buying power by about 40 percent since 2000.
What Is The New Child Tax Credit Amount
Heres how the numbers break down: The American Rescue Plan bumps the Child Tax Credit up to $3,000 for children ages 617 and $3,600 for children under age 6.3 Expecting a baby in 2021? First of all, congrats! And heres some more good news for youbabies born in 2021 will qualify for the full $3,600. Have a college student? Parents can receive a one-time payment of $500 for each full-time college kid ages 1824.4
So, for a family that has three children , heres how it all breaks down:
Lets say they have three kids that are ages 12, 7 and 4 and a household income of $72,000 a year. Their new Child Tax Credit would be $9,600.
But remember, instead of applying the full amount of the credit to income taxes they might owe or getting a refund after they file their taxes, parents can get the credit up front in monthly payments of $250 for each qualifying child .5 So that family of three in our example would get $800 a month from July through December. Wow!
Right now, this change would be only for 2021but theres talk in Congress and the White House to make it a permanent thing for the next five years under Bidens American Families Plan. Yep, there are a lot of plans and acts to keep straight these days.
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I Get Ssi Should I Spend The Stimulus Money Within A Year What Can I Spend It On
Spend down your CARES Act EIP money before 12 months have passed since receiving the payment. You are not limited in what you can spend the money on. You can spend down on whatever you wish, including on gifts and charitable contributions. If you don’t spend it within 12 months, the Social Security Administration will count the money as a resource.
What Is The Child Tax Credit
The Child Tax Credit is a type of tax credit given by the government based on how many dependents you have. And it took a big leap this year thanks to the American Rescue Plan. During a normal year, you can claim your kids and get a maximum tax credit of $2,000 for each qualifying child under age 17.1 That means if you owe income taxes, then the Child Tax Credit lowers your tax bill. And if it lowers it so much that now Uncle Sam owes you money, then you can get a refund of up to $1,400 per kidpretty nice.2
Usually, parents have to wait until after they file their taxes for their refund to come rolling in. But thats all changing for your 2021 taxes . With the tax credit, youre automatically enrolled to get half of your refund paid to you up front through monthly payments starting in July 2021 and wrapping up by December 2021. The other half of your refund would be paid out to you after you officially file your 2021 taxes next year.
Basically, the thought process here is that families in need could get their hands on that refund money earlier to help them take care of their immediate needs now. The State of Personal Finance study from Ramsey Solutions found that 35% of parents say this money will go toward paying their bills.
Now, this thing isnt a stimulus check, but its almost like it in a wayalthough this money is coming from the tax return money the government would already be giving to you at tax time. Youre just getting a slice of it sooner.
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Information Regarding Economic Impact Payments For Social Security And Ssi Beneficiaries With Representative Payees And People Living In Us Territories
The Social Security Administration issued an update today about COVID-19 Economic Impact Payments to certain groups of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries. Beneficiaries who have their regular monthly payments managed for them by another person, called a representative payee, will begin receiving their EIPs from the IRS in late May.
Special rules apply to beneficiaries living in the U.S. territories: American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In general, the tax authority in each territory, not the IRS, will pay the EIP to eligible residents based on information the IRS will provide to the territories. It is anticipated that beneficiaries in the territories could begin receiving their EIP in early June.
The Social Security Administration has been working with the IRS to provide the necessary information about Social Security and SSI beneficiaries in order to automate and expedite their Economic Impact Payments, said Andrew Saul, Commissioner of Social Security. While millions of our beneficiaries have already received their EIPs from the IRS, we continue to work hard for those beneficiaries who are awaiting their payment from the IRS.
For additional information about payments to beneficiaries with representative payees, please refer to .
