So did you get it? Did you get it?
Did you get a direct deposit today? Let me know in the comments if you got yours today or previously and also let me know the first thing you’re going to do with your newfound cash.
Now, if you don’t get a direct deposit today, my condolences.
For many of you, this was probably expected, though, right, we’ve discussed previously who should expect their payment this week, who should expect it next week, who should expect it beginning in May or beyond, but regardless of your situation, if you didn’t get a stimulus payment today, what should you do?
DISAPPOINTED IN THE IRS!
If you’d rather watch than read, check out the YouTube version here!
What To Do If You Didn’t Get a Stimulus Payment Today
First thing you should do is go to the IRS Get My Payment Tool to check on the status of your stimulus payment if you can.
I say “if you can” because I really wanted to do a walkthrough of this tool for you all this morning, but the IRS wouldn’t let me, I got an error, they said it’s because the information didn’t match or I’ve already tried to access the tool too many times, neither of which was true, so I suspect what’s really going on is the IRS can’t handle the volume right now.
But let’s recap the IRS Get My Payment Tool just for good measure.
What is this tool for? This tool has two purposes:
- The first purpose is to check the status of your stimulus payment, you can also see if you should be expecting a paper check or a direct deposit. Everyone can use this tool for that purpose, OK.
- Now, the second purpose is to provide the IRS with your direct deposit information or mailing address if you want to go that route if they don’t already have it. However, only a very limited group of people can actually submit their direct deposit information to the IRS using the Get My Payment Tool.
Which group is that? Those who have already filed their 2019 tax return who did not receive a direct deposit refund. So what are the scenarios here, I’m going to walk you through the IRS website as we go:
First group of people, as I mentioned, you filed your 2019 tax return and you did not receive a direct deposit refund.
This means that your received your refund via paper check or you did not receive a refund at all i.e. you owed the IRS or you had no balance due or refund.
Either way, your direct deposit information was not on Line 21 of your 2019 Form 1040.
If that’s you, you can use this tool to give the IRS your direct deposit information. Congrats.
But based on the IRS Get My Payment Tool website, it doesn’t look like anybody else can use this tool to give the IRS their direct deposit information.
Everyone can use it to check the status of your stimulus OK, let’s be clear, but other than those who already filed their 2019 tax return and did not receive a direct deposit refund, it doesn’t appear that anyone else can use this tool to update their direct deposit information, and I’ll tell you why right now.
So second group of people, you filed your 2019 tax return and you did receive a direct deposit refund, that is, you had your direct deposit information on Line 21 of your 2019 Form 1040.
Here’s what the IRS Get My Payment Tool says about you: “2019 Filers: We will send your payment using the information you provided with your 2019 tax return. You will not be able to change it.”
Now, bless the wordsmiths at the IRS, but I think this means specifically the direct deposit information you provided with your 2019 tax return. So if you have direct deposit information on your 2019 tax return, sorry, you can’t change it now.
So I suspected this in my April 12 stimulus update, but basically if you have already filed your 2019 tax return, and there was direct deposit information on it, you can’t use this tool to give the IRS new direct deposit information, sorry.
Third group of people: those who have filed their 2018 tax return but not their 2019 tax return. Basically this group, the only way to give the IRS updated information is to file a 2019 tax return.
So basically if this is you, and you do not file your 2019 tax return, and the IRS doesn’t really give us any hard dates here, but if you don’t file your 2019 return, the IRS will use the information on your 2018 tax return to send you your stimulus payment.
So if there’s direct deposit information on your 2018 tax return because you received a direct deposit refund, that is, your banking information is found on Line 20 of your 2018 Form 1040, then the IRS will be sending your stimulus there if you don’t file your 2019 return.
Otherwise, if you did not receive a direct deposit refund in 2018, and you don’t file your 2019 tax return, you will receive your stimulus at the mailing address on your 2018 tax return.
So if you’re in this position, you’ve filed 2018 but not 2019, the only way to update your information with the IRS is to file a 2019 tax return.
And please, if you have a filing obligation in 2019, file your real tax return.
The IRS tool for non-filers that I walked through last Friday, and the TurboTax stimulus edition that I walked through two Saturdays ago, those are for people who do not have a 2019 filing obligation.
So if you have a 2019 filing obligation, file your real tax return like you do every year.
But if you don’t have a 2019 filing obligation, you can use the IRS tool for non-filers to give the IRS your payment information, the tool I walked through last Friday. But you can’t use the Get My Payment Tool.
And this is actually slightly different than the Treasury press release because the Treasury press release says, “The FREE app allows taxpayers who filed their tax return in 2018 or 2019 but did not provide their banking information on either return to submit direct deposit information.”
Couple things wrong with this, first it says “who filed their tax return in 2018 or 2019,” I’m pretty confident they meant “for 2018 or 2019.” Because think about it.
The tax return you filed in 2018 was your 2017 tax return, and the tax return you filed in 2019 was your 2018 tax return, and the tax return you filed in 2020 was your 2019 tax return.
So, thank you Department of the Treasury for your always-confusing press releases, but regardless, even considering that they used the proper preposition, “for” instead of “in,” this is still confusing because they say “or.”
This could imply that, 2018 or 2019, so if I only filed 2018, based on the Treasury press release, and I didn’t provide my banking information on my 2018 return, that I can use the Get My Payment Tool to submit direct deposit information.
But that’s different from what the IRS says on its website, which is, “2018 Filers: If you need to change your account information or mailing address, file your 2019 taxes electronically as soon as possible. That is the only way to let us know your new information.”
Alright, that’s enough about the Get My Payment Tool, of course I will be trying throughout the day to access the tool so I can do a full walkthrough, so stay tuned.
Trump’s Name to Appear on Checks
Alright, so shifting gears slightly, according to some anonymous individuals at the Department of the Treasury, President Trump’s name will be printed on the stimulus checks, which would be the first time in history that a president’s name appears on a payment from the IRS, stimulus, refund, or otherwise.
And apparently he wanted his signature on the checks previously, but he didn’t get his way there because the President is not an authorized signer for payments from the Treasury.
The checks will likely be signed by some Treasury official.
So he couldn’t get his signature on there, but his name will apparently appear in the memo line of paper checks.
Some IRS officials apparently say that this will slow down the process, while some other people at Treasury said it won’t slow down the process at all.
And of course Pelosi doesn’t like this at all. She said the payments should go out as quickly as possible without “waiting for a fancy-Dan letter from the president.”
Now, Speaking of Pelosi, Let’s Talk About Pelosi’s Letter Yesterday
So now that this initial stimulus is on the home stretch — and I know there are still some groups out there who are still confused, SSI recipients, veterans benefits recipients, I know, and I will still continue to provide you with any and all updates pertaining to your situation, and please tomorrow I’m going to publish the conversation I had with Michael Astrue, who served as head of Social Security under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama — but now that this initial stimulus is on the home stretch, what I’m going to be doing for you all moving forward is keeping a close eye on what the following four people do and say on a daily basis with respect to future stimulus programs.
- Number One, Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Pelosi is a very powerful Speaker of the House, and as we all know she is at odds with President Trump and can sometimes be just as polarizing, and she is pushing for more stimulus for the American people. You’ll remember that she initially wanted $1,500 per individual with a Social Security Number, including children, but children would have been capped at three per household. So Pelosi is very pro-additional stimulus.
- I’m also keeping an eye on Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader. The Republicans are the minority party in the House of Representatives, and they’ve elected McCarthy as their leader, that’s why he’s called the House Minority Leader. Now, you’ll remember that at the end of last month, McCarthy was the one saying that a future stimulus bill after the CARES Act may not be necessary.
- Third, I’m keeping an eye on Mitch McConnell, he is the Senate Majority Leader. Republicans control the Senate, and they elected Mitch to be their leader in the Senate, hence Senate Majority Leader. Like Kevin McCarthy in the House, Mitch was also opposed to future stimulus bills after the CARES Act.
- Finally, I’m watching any statements made by Chuck Schumer, he is the Senate Minority Leader. He wants more money to go out to Americans as well. You’ll remember I mentioned in my April 8 update last week that he is the one pushing for up to $25,000 in hero’s pay, through a wage increase, for front-line and other essential workers.
So yesterday Pelosi wrote a letter to her Democratic colleagues, and it starts with some fighting words, here they are: “We Democrats transformed the CARES Act from a corporate trickle-down plan to a bubble-up, workers-first bill.”
Wow, OK.
Anyway, what is Pelosi talking about in this letter?
Well, you remember the Fed’s $2.3 trillion in loans that they announced they were going to make? I covered it in my April 10 update.
$600 billion to small business, $500 billion to state and local governments, $850 billion to extend credit lines for households and businesses, there’s some smaller items in there as well, but that’s the bulk of it.
Pelosi is saying that she’s not happy with this because it doesn’t include nonprofits and many institutions of higher learning and that the Fed’s $2.3 trillion initiative should be changed to address needs experienced by those institutions.
Personally, I think, look, nonprofits, colleges, universities, they generally don’t pay any taxes, do they need help right now, probably, but personally I don’t want to see things held up on behalf of the colleges, I don’t know about you.
The $8.2 Million Stimulus Check
Finally, I’m sure some of you heard about this, but Charles Calvin, a volunteer firefighter from Indiana who was waiting for his $1,700 stimulus check to be direct deposited — $1,200 for himself and $500 on account of his child — Calvin went to an ATM, withdrew $200, checked the balance on his receipt, and it said $8.2 million.
Apparently, this was an ATM error, and Calvin actually only had $200 in his account.
I wish they would’ve given him something, though, you know? Single parent apparently, volunteer firefighter? They couldn’t have spared maybe $1,000 out of that $8.2 million? Or even $100?
Anyway, that will do it for today, I am going to go sit right in front of my computer and wait for that Get My Payment tool to roll out so I can do a walkthrough of it for you right here on the channel.
