Most Americans received two economic impact payments (AKA Stimulus Checks) after the CARES Act & COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020 were passed in March and December of 2020 respectively. These payments, while either necessary or just a boost to your savings accounts, may have also made your taxes a bit more complicated this year. Luckily you can sign up for an IRS Account here!
What You Need to Know
There are four possible scenarios that you will fall under: you received the full amounts owed, you didn’t receive any money, you received partial amounts and know what they were, or you don’t know or can’t remember how much you received.
- You received full payments of $1200/adult & $500/dependent child for the first check and $600/adult & dependent child
- Let your tax preparer know that you received both stimulus payments in full. Nothing further needed.
- You didn’t receive any stimulus money
- Let your tax preparer know you did not receive any stimulus payments. If you qualify, for full or partial payments they will be applied as a payment credit on your tax return. This will reduce your amount owed, or increase your refund due.
- You received less than the full amounts listed above due to making over $75,000 ($150,000 if Married) in 2018 or 2019.
- If you know how much you received for each stimulus payment, let your preparer know. You will never owe any of this back, however, if you did not receive enough based on 2020 income, you will receive the difference as a payment credit.
- You don’t know how much or if you received the stimulus payment at all
- You will need to sign up for an IRS account to determine what they have on your account.
IRS Account
An IRS account lets you easily determine what stimulus payments that you received. It also lets you know what your balance due is on your account if you owe the IRS money, as well as allowing you to see your account transcripts of the past three years.
Signing Up
Signing up is quick and painless if you have the required information ahead of time. You need to have the following:
| Full Legal Name | Birthdate | |
| Social Security Number | Tax Filing Status | Current Address |
| And one of the following | ||
| Visa/Mastercard/Discover Card | Student Loan | Mortgage or Home Equity Loan/LOC |
Your account is free, and once you have signed up you will have access to this account for all tax years going forward.
Don’t Have the Above Information?
You can contact us, or your tax preparer to file a Form 2848. This is a tax account specific power of attorney that allows your preparer to have access to only the tax years you specify. They may charge you for the service, and it takes a minimum of 2 weeks to be recorded with the IRS.
