Stimulus $600

[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]

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]

^ 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/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_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]

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]

: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]

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]

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...?

 

[Major Tom]

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.

The card arrived in the mail today. At last, I can move to a Caribbean island on the proceeds

 

[W2R]

The card arrived in the mail today. At last, I can move to a Caribbean island on the proceeds

Glad to hear that you got your stimulus money, at last!

 

[Sunset]

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.

IRS is not accepting returns (or not starting processing) until Feb 12, 2021

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/2021-t...tlines-steps-to-speed-refunds-during-pandemic

 

[Major Tom]

IRS is not accepting returns (or not starting processing) until Feb 12, 2021

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/2021-t...tlines-steps-to-speed-refunds-during-pandemic

That's good to know.

Glad to hear that you got your stimulus money, at last!

I don't need it, like most here, if not all. It's nice to have it though and, when the expectation has been set, you kind of wonder where it is!

 

[sengsational]

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:

Rather than the card, I see USPS Informed Delivery has the check! So no need for ATM gyrations will be required.

 

[Time2]

I wonder if they are sending out cards, as an effort to get people to spend it rather than bank it?

 

[Koolau]

I wonder if they are sending out cards, as an effort to get people to spend it rather than bank it?

I haven't seen that stated anywhere, but it makes sense and was sort of my "guess." Get that money into circulation!

Of course, many of us here will do what I did - just put the card's value into the checking account. We're not really part of the problem (didn't lose a j*b or other revenue) and not really part of the solution(?) - spending money, er, Blowing That Dough! YMMV

 

[cathy63]

I wonder if they are sending out cards, as an effort to get people to spend it rather than bank it?

The reason the government gave for sending out debit cards is that it's faster than processing and sending checks to everyone. I don't know if they meant that it's actually faster to manufacture a debit card, or just that splitting the workload between MetaBank and the Treasury Dept increases the throughput.

 

[Gumby]

Remember when government checks were green computer punch cards?

 

[jollystomper]

One of our children who lives overseas received the preceding stimulus check via direct deposit to their checking account. This time their check came to our house in the mail. No debit card, a check.

 

[Koolau]

The reason the government gave for sending out debit cards is that it's faster than processing and sending checks to everyone. I don't know if they meant that it's actually faster to manufacture a debit card, or just that splitting the workload between MetaBank and the Treasury Dept increases the throughput.

Makes little sense to me. How could a piece of plastic with all those digits be easier/faster than a check or DP? But what do I know? I never worked in gummint. To me, the whole concept is much stranger than how the money arrives. I didn't need the last stimulus and I don't need this one. (Please! No offers to take it off my hands. )Many folks here have stated the same thing. I honestly don't think I'll spend the money in a way that "stimulates" either. It's just "In There" like the spaghetti sauce commercial, but it's my checking account.

My kids and GKs will likely pay for it (unless they change the inheritance tax, heh, heh.) YMMV

 

[Aerides]

I wonder if they are sending out cards, as an effort to get people to spend it rather than bank it?

With lower income people, having an actual bank account is not a guarantee. There are a very large number of un-banked or under-banked folks, due to the costs to maintain a checking account when you have only a small balance, or credit requirements these days for basic accounts.

So the cards don't place the burden of requiring the person to have a place to deposit the check, or paying the exorbitant check-cashing fees.

 

[sengsational]

Remember when government checks were green computer punch cards?

Yeah, they put the existing paper handling designs into work (from the keypunch machines). Back in the day when IBM had a lot of the contracts. Probably too easy to counterfeit.

 

[Eucerin]

Not complaining here. But with year 2020 stimulus check 2400+1200=3600, that had exceeded our estimated income limit for ACA, may have to give back some $$ when we file tax next month

 

[audreyh1]

Not complaining here. But with year 2020 stimulus check 2400+1200=3600, that had exceeded our estimated income limit for ACA, may have to give back some $$ when we file tax next month

The stimulus checks don't count as income. They don't add to your AGI.