If you've been watching the news this week, you are aware that the government passed The CARES Act: Emergency Relief for Businesses and Individuals. The CARES Act is a bill that provides relief to individuals, businesses and entire sectors of the economy impacted by COVID-19.
How Much to Expect in Stimulus Payments
This new law provides for over $2 trillion in aid, the largest rescue package in American history. One of the programs includes providing stimulus payments to taxpayers. How much you will receive depends on your income.
- Single adults with Social Security numbers who have an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less, based on 2018 or 2019 taxes, whichever were last filed, will get the full amount.
- Married couples with no children earning $150,000 or less will receive a total of $2,400.
- Taxpayers filing as head of household will get the full payment if they earned $112,500 or less.
If you make over those thresholds, the payments will be adjusted down. It stops altogether for single people earning $99,000, or married people who have no children and earn $198,000. According to the Senate Finance Committee, a family with two children will no longer be eligible for any payments if its income surpassed $218,000.
You can’t get a payment if someone claims you as a dependent, even if you’re an adult. Everyone must have a valid Social Security number in order to be eligible. There is an exception for members of the military.
How to File for Stimulus Payments
You actually don't have to file anything for payments. If the IRS has your bank account information from last year's taxes, they will send your direct deposit to the same bank account you previously used to receive a refund. The IRS will mail you a paper notice in the mail a few weeks after payments are disbursed. If you haven't used direct deposit when filing for a refund in the past, they will send a paper check to your address on file.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he expected most people to get their payments within three weeks. The IRS has asked taxpayers not to call regarding stimulus payments. They don't have a definite date set on when the payments will be issued, and will update their website as information becomes available.
What if I Owe Money to the IRS?
The bill temporarily suspends nearly all efforts to garnish tax refunds, including those to the IRS. The only exception to the waiver is for people who are behind on child support.
Unemployment Payments
The CARES Act also provides unemployment payments above what State programs are providing for individuals who have lost their jobs due to Coronavirus. For more information on who will receive unemployment payments, and how much you may receive, visit this link: https://irs.gov/coronavirus.
Small Business Loans & Grants
If you're wondering if you qualify for any of the CARES Act funding as a small business owner, reach out to your local banker and ask them what's available. Banks are the distributors of the funds, and they can help you figure out which programs apply to your situation.
