Stimulus $600

[SecondCor521]

^ When figuring who supported your DD19, you're supposed to look at who actually paid for things like food, housing, etc. I know that support also includes money spent on education, but excludes scholarships. So what she paid out of pocket for books and tuition would count as her providing her own support. What you paid for food and housing etc. would count as you providing her support.

You might find this worksheet helpful:

https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/conten...pport_4012.pdf

Note that when determining support, it's who actually paid that matters, not how much a person made. So if she earns money from her part time job and puts it in savings, that doesn't count towards her support because it wasn't actually spent on support.

[Koolau]

I felt just slightly guilty today putting my card's balance in my bank acct. It took the teller the better part of 10 minutes - including the fact that I mis-entered my pin. She asked me if I was SURE enough for a second try because she could over ride it. I went for the override. I sure didn't want to get locked out and have to deal with "whomever" to get it fixed.

I told the nice teller that the gummint should give her $10 for each of us old dinosaurs who brought our debit card in. She smiled. YMMV

[EastWest Gal]

No stimulus payment for us-income too high in 2019. DS got his. Donated it to the local food bank. I don’t understand why a couple making $140K per year needs an extra $600. If I got one I’d give it to the food bank or give it back to the U.S. Treasury.

[Alan]

Checked with our son this morning and his was direct deposited this week. Like us he lives in England and e-files each year. He will put the money towards a new boiler and other house improvements he plans this year.

[scrabbler1]

My ladyfriend and I are wondering why she hasn't gotten her check yet. Her tax return is simple; no income other than her 1 job, income easily below the $75k limit to receive the full amount. The first payment was direct-deposited to her bank back in May. No change in address or banking info. Income nearly the same in 2020 as in 2019 (and 2018).

She filed her 2019 tax return back in March and her payment via paper check was cashed quickly. No questions about her return (which I actually prepared for her). So, when we go to that website within the IRS website to check on her latest payment's status, we see this:

"Payment #2 Status - Not Available

We are unable to provide the status of your payment right now because:
•We don't have enough information yet (we're working on this), or
•You're not eligible for a payment."

Could the IRS have not processed her 2019 tax return? Otherwise, what info could they still need?

If by some chance she doesn't get her payment, we plan to apply the $600 to her 2020 taxes because she will owe nearly that amount, triggering a small refund. She won't file until late March anyway.

[sengsational]

When I opened this letter, what was inside was a replacement credit card from my credit union. Nothing to do with the stimulus payment. I guess we have an "informed delivery" failure, because the image below was tagged with "US Treasury..."

So, still waiting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational Looks like I got the plastic.

[John Galt III]

Still no $600 here, in Pa.

[cathy63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational When I opened this letter, what was inside was a replacement credit card from my credit union. Nothing to do with the stimulus payment. I guess we have an "informed delivery" failure, because the image below was tagged with "US Treasury..." So, still waiting.

How interesting! Seems like they knew there was a card inside and just assumed it was from the Treasury. The EIP envelopes look more like this:

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrabbler1 My ladyfriend and I are wondering why she hasn't gotten her check yet. Her tax return is simple; no income other than her 1 job, income easily below the $75k limit to receive the full amount. The first payment was direct-deposited to her bank back in May. No change in address or banking info. Income nearly the same in 2020 as in 2019 (and 2018). She filed her 2019 tax return back in March and her payment via paper check was cashed quickly. No questions about her return (which I actually prepared for her). So, when we go to that website within the IRS website to check on her latest payment's status, we see this: "Payment #2 Status - Not Available We are unable to provide the status of your payment right now because: •We don't have enough information yet (we're working on this), or •You're not eligible for a payment." Could the IRS have not processed her 2019 tax return? Otherwise, what info could they still need? If by some chance she doesn't get her payment, we plan to apply the $600 to her 2020 taxes because she will owe nearly that amount, triggering a small refund. She won't file until late March anyway.

From what I read, if you get that not available status message, the IRS says that you will have to reconcile it on your 2020 taxes.

[John Galt III]

Still nada.

[Koolau]

Without rereading everything, have we discussed or learned why such a wide variation in method of distribution of the funds? Checks, direct deposit, debit cards, future tax refunds, wampum belts. I may well have missed this info so thanks and YMMV.

[Major Tom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Informed Delivery shows a check will arrive today from the US Treasury. The IRS site said it was scheduled to be mailed on the 6th, so it only took 13 days to get here.

The IRS site also said that mine was scheduled to be mailed on the 6th, but it still hasn't arrived as of today, Jan 22nd. No word from USPS Informed Delivery either. At this point, I am expecting to have to claim it with my tax return. I usually file as soon as possible, in late Jan/early Feb, but may wait a little this year, to make absolutely sure the check isn't going to arrive in the mail.

[Plantman]

IRS said mailed on the 6th, finally got the card today!

[RetiredAt55.5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SecondCor521 ^ When figuring who supported your DD19, you're supposed to look at who actually paid for things like food, housing, etc. I know that support also includes money spent on education, but excludes scholarships. So what she paid out of pocket for books and tuition would count as her providing her own support. What you paid for food and housing etc. would count as you providing her support. You might find this worksheet helpful: https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/conten...pport_4012.pdf Note that when determining support, it's who actually paid that matters, not how much a person made. So if she earns money from her part time job and puts it in savings, that doesn't count towards her support because it wasn't actually spent on support.

Realistically, is this something the IRS is EVER going to challenge in terms of who provided the primary support? Our youngest son is graduating college in May. We hope he'll land a full-time job and support himself after May.

But, due to the ACA open season, we had to decide by December 15th whether he would be part of our household for 2021, or supporting himself.

Is the IRS going to ask for food receipts and what I should've charged for rent, etc. I just don't see that happening as long as he has a reasonable amount of income for the year.

I could always "charge" him rent/groceries after May. After he pays me, I could put the cash back on his dresser.

[ls99]

Got paper check today.

[SecondCor521]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetiredAt55.5 Realistically, is this something the IRS is EVER going to challenge in terms of who provided the primary support? Our youngest son is graduating college in May. We hope he'll land a full-time job and support himself after May. But, due to the ACA open season, we had to decide by December 15th whether he would be part of our household for 2021, or supporting himself. Is the IRS going to ask for food receipts and what I should've charged for rent, etc. I just don't see that happening as long as he has a reasonable amount of income for the year. I could always "charge" him rent/groceries after May. After he pays me, I could put the cash back on his dresser.

:shrug: I don't know. If you are selected for an audit and there is significant tax money on the line (such as ACA subsidies or EIP payments), maybe.

I don't like the "guess in advance who will be one's dependent" aspect of the ACA APTC, but it technically is optional and taxpayers are permitted to file changes throughout the year as new information becomes available, although I think most don't. So "had to" isn't accurate.

Do as you like, I really don't care; I was just providing the correct answer to another poster.

[RetiredAt55.5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SecondCor521 :shrug: I don't know. If you are selected for an audit and there is significant tax money on the line (such as ACA subsidies or EIP payments), maybe. I don't like the "guess in advance who will be one's dependent" aspect of the ACA APTC, but it technically is optional and taxpayers are permitted to file changes throughout the year as new information becomes available, although I think most don't. So "had to" isn't accurate. Do as you like, I really don't care; I was just providing the correct answer to another poster.

Taking the subsidies up front is optional, however you DO have to decide during open enrollment who will be in the same household (same ACA plan).

It's nontrivial to keep changing who's in the same household (same plan) during the year, as that impacts things like deductibles and maximum family expenses.

[cathy63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetiredAt55.5 Realistically, is this something the IRS is EVER going to challenge in terms of who provided the primary support? Our youngest son is graduating college in May. We hope he'll land a full-time job and support himself after May. But, due to the ACA open season, we had to decide by December 15th whether he would be part of our household for 2021, or supporting himself. Is the IRS going to ask for food receipts and what I should've charged for rent, etc. I just don't see that happening as long as he has a reasonable amount of income for the year. I could always "charge" him rent/groceries after May. After he pays me, I could put the cash back on his dresser.

You can have your adult child on your ACA health coverage up to age 26 (longer in some states), even if he's not your tax dependent and even if he doesn't live with you, so whether or not you expect to provide half his support is not relevant during open enrollment. What matters are his earnings, which will get added to yours when you calculate your ACA MAGI on form 8962. His income may be enough to eliminate any subsidy for you, so the dilemma about whether to include a student on a family ACA plan is usually about guessing how much he'll earn.

If the IRS audits you and you have claimed him as a dependent, then they do ask about that. They're not going to audit you just for the purpose of checking out your dependent claims though. Something else will have to draw their attention to you first. Even if you claim your son and he also files and claims himself, the automated systems will catch it, but that usually just gets you a letter disallowing the $500 credit, not a full-blown audit. At that point, if you wanted to insist that you deserve the dependent credit and your son's return was incorrect, then that's where having some proof that you actually supported him would help.

[John Galt III]

Status not available and no check yet. Waiting for my free money.

[SecondCor521]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cathy63 You can have your adult child on your ACA health coverage up to age 26 (longer in some states), even if he's not your tax dependent and even if he doesn't live with you, so whether or not you expect to provide half his support is not relevant during open enrollment. What matters are his earnings, which will get added to yours when you calculate your ACA MAGI on form 8962. His income may be enough to eliminate any subsidy for you, so the dilemma about whether to include a student on a family ACA plan is usually about guessing how much he'll earn. If the IRS audits you and you have claimed him as a dependent, then they do ask about that. They're not going to audit you just for the purpose of checking out your dependent claims though. Something else will have to draw their attention to you first. Even if you claim your son and he also files and claims himself, the automated systems will catch it, but that usually just gets you a letter disallowing the $500 credit, not a full-blown audit. At that point, if you wanted to insist that you deserve the dependent credit and your son's return was incorrect, then that's where having some proof that you actually supported him would help.

Emphasis added.

@cathy63, the way I read the instructions for 8962, the young adult's MAGI gets added in only if they are a tax dependent and if they are required to file a return...?

And I know it's unlikely, but I thought the IRS still does some random audits (weighted by that DIF score), so there doesn't have to be any specific thing drawing their attention to a taxpayer, it could just be luck of the draw...?