Assuming the Internal Revenue Service already has all your bank information from previous tax refunds, individuals who meet a few other criteria can expect to see the $1,200 from the $2.2 trillion federal stimulus plan to hit their bank accounts as early as Monday.
That’s the word from the office of Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, The Washington Times reported Friday.
The first round of payments will hit bank accounts from Monday to Thursday, depending on how long banks take to process direct deposits, Brady’s office said Friday. Americans with the lowest annual incomes will receive their money first, and the process will repeat every week until all payments have gone through.
The Treasury Department on Friday took the first steps in freeing up the money, clearing payments that will be directly deposited and making sure banks confirm the money will reach the right accounts.
Under the bill passed last month by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump, individuals are eligible for payments up to $1,200, but that amount declines for those with an adjusted gross income higher than $75,000 a year. The $1,200 payment drops by 5% of every dollar above $75,000, or $50 for every $1,000.
The benefit doesn’t apply for individuals with incomes over $99,000.
Married couples with combined incomes up to $150,000 would receive $2,400, subject to the same phaseout that applies to individuals. The payments would be phased out entirely for couples making $198,000 or more. Families also get $500 per dependent child under the age of 16.
About 120 million U.S. taxpayers will qualify for direct payments from the federal government under the bill, according to an analysis by one think tank. But it ‘s unclear what year the feds will use to determine an individual’s income.
Now the bad news: Paper checks for Americans without direct deposit filed with the IRS won’t start going out until next month, and some people may have to wait up to five months to see their stimulus dollars. About 100 million Americans don’t have direct deposit, Politico reported, adding that “some 5 million checks will be mailed weekly over 20 weeks.”
Hoping to expedite more payments, the agency is expected to announce Friday that it will launch an online application later this month, called “Get My Payment,” that will allow taxpayers who filed tax returns in 2018 or 2019 to submit direct deposit information if they didn’t provide it on their returns.
A still unanswered question is how people without bank accounts, mostly with low incomes, will get access to their money once they get a check. Not all banks have agreed to accommodate non-customers, citing fraud concerns and social distancing guidelines from government health officials, one of the sources said.
That could force those people to turn to expensive check-cashing services.
“MAKE SURE…IRS has current information to send your $1,200 tax rebate checks directly to your account. Important to those who don’t need to file federal taxes or who file by mail. Can also apply through tax preparers like TurboTax and H&RBlock,” Brady wrote on Twitter on Friday.
The congressman also included a link to an article titled, “More Help For Taxpayers: New IRS Tool Will Help More People Receive COVID-19 Relief Checks.”