Stimulus Payment Sequence

[ATSMAN]

From Mass EA Society:

About sixty million stimulus payments were made this week. House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal of Massachusetts laid out the expected timeline for Economic Stimulus Payments. The first wave was issued to tax filers who included personal direct deposit information on their return. A second wave of direct deposits will be attempted at the end of the month. The targeted group in the second wave is the non-filers whose direct deposit information is on record with the US Treasury, primarily Social Security benefits recipients.

The third phase is gradually released. IRS will begin to issue paper checks beginning in May at the rate of five million checks per week to what it assumes are the remaining 110 million taxpayers. The first round of checks will go to the lowest AGI taxpayers. The last issuance will ripple at the end of September. Included in this third segment are the 21 million rapid anticipation refund filers. These are taxpayers who buy a bank account or fixed amount debit card from the tax preparer to receive a portion of their annual refund. Economic Stimulus payments will not be made on a RAL account or debit card. (The Mef schematics include a RAL indicator.)

Not included in the automated stimulus give-away are non-filers who do not receive social security benefits by direct deposits and do not file tax returns. By mid-May, the IRS will post on its website a secure portal that will allow citizens to register, update direct deposit information and check on their stimulus status.

[TAXNJ]

What category will the taxpayer who applied their refund to the following year estimate on the tax return and no tax due or refund to be direct deposited?

[taxmandan]

The IRS has already begun sending money to the rapid refund filers, the banks who do those loans are getting some of them which they then have return to the IRS as undeliverable. IRS said that wouldn't happen but... So, if you have rapid refund customers, expect alot of confusion and their money will likely be delayed since the IRS will eventually have to cut a paper check and mail to LKA.

[ATSMAN]

My tax software allows me to file a return with $1 interest just to get DD info into the IRS system. So far I filed 10 of them!

[momona]

My mom is retired and collects SSA in her savings account. She is required to file a 1040 and her refund is applied to her estimated and she has estimated payments auto debited from her checking account.

As of date, she hasn't received any stimulus payments in any account so based on the Mass EA society that Atsman posted (Thanks!),I have to assume that she will get her payment at the end of the month based on her SSA income and that the IRS doesn't keep banking info on debits.


My next question is on the IRS stimulus tracker, it asks for a refund or amount owed. What if there is nothing? I have a situation where I had to file a return because of 1099-B but their AGI was below the threshhold and their tax was zero. It accepts zero but then it tells you that there's no record.

[Lion]

The IRS has stated they are sending payments based on 2019 first and then 2018 and then those without returns but SS/RR benefits. So, if you mom has had no refunds, she may be getting a check in the mail based on her tax returns. They might not ever look at her SS DDs.

[ToledoEd]

So exactly how did you get direct deposit of a refund when their total "income" was $1 ???
(Also not sure I would ever take that pathway merely for professional reasons. . .)

IRS stated that this is how people whose income is below the filing threshold and who have not filed a return to get the Direct Deposit information into the system. I use Drake Software and would only have to put in the basic info (Nmae, Address, SS, Direct Deposit Info) and check a Economic Impact Only box and it files with the $1 interest income automatic.

[dtlee]

IRS stated that this is how people whose income is below the filing threshold and who have not filed a return to get the Direct Deposit information into the system. I use Drake Software and would only have to put in the basic info (Nmae, Address, SS, Direct Deposit Info) and check a Economic Impact Only box and it files with the $1 interest income automatic.

This is also what the IRS freefile website does.

[Rapid Robert]

My tax software allows me to file a return with $1 interest just to get DD info into the IRS system. So far I filed 10 of them!

Curious what promise of results you made to these people, and if you charged them a fee?

Incidentally, most all tax software will allow filing a return with only $1 interest income. It's the IRS that sets the parameters, not the software vendors.

[dtlee]

The IRS has always allowed returns to be filed with what I will call "negligible" income and neither a refund nor balance due. However, such returns should not provide the IRS with Direct Deposit information. The "simple" returns that the IRS began allowing this month have $1 of interest but also transmit Direct Deposit information.