Important Information about Individual Tax Relief

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As part of the US CARES Act, you may be eligible to receive a direct payment from the government.

Americans who pay taxes and meet income requirements will receive a one-time payment of up to $1,200, and joint filers will receive $2,400, plus an additional $500 per child. Individuals with incomes up to $75,000/year and joint filers with incomes up to $150,000/year will receive the full amount, with the amount decreasing for higher income brackets (capping out at $99,000/year for individuals and $198,000/year for joint filers).

How will the IRS calculate my income?

If you’ve filed a tax return this year, the IRS will use the information you provided there to calculate your payment.

If you have not yet submitted your taxes this year the IRS will use data from last year’s filings (2018). Americans who don’t earn enough to be required to file a tax return may need to submit a simple tax return to the IRS to make sure the agency has accurate information on their income. Stay tuned for updates from the IRS in the coming days. If you don’t usually file taxes but receive Social Security payments, the IRS will use your Social Security information without you needing to file anything.

Bottom line: If you are a tax filer or have a tax filing obligation, you can get a payment based on your 2018 Tax Return OR  2019 Tax Return.  If you are not a tax filer, be on the lookout for IRS updates on how to get your payment. Visit the IRS site for more information.

How will I receive the payment?

Most people won’t need to do anything. If you already filed your taxes in 2018 or 2019 and included your direct deposit information, you can expect to see the payment in your account by about April 16, 2020. If you previously elected to receive any tax refunds by check, you will receive this payment via check as well. Checks sent via mail will take longer—potentially months—and they will be sent to the address listed on your most recent tax return. 

How can I get my direct deposit information to the IRS?

In the next few weeks, the US Treasury plans to develop a web portal for individuals to provide their direct deposit information to the IRS online for speedier payment. Keep checking the IRS website as they will continue to provide updates on this and other questions daily.

When do I have until to submit a tax return if I need to file one?

The usual deadline for filing tax returns, April 15, has been pushed back to July 15 this year in response to the pandemic. The IRS will make these payments until the end of 2020, so you have time to get your tax return information together if you didn’t file in 2018 or 2019, or need to file a simple tax return. The sooner you file, the sooner you will get your payment.

Questions?

Do you have any questions that are top of mind that you’d like us to research?  Contact us via DM on Instagram @WeddingPro. We’ll do our best to compile questions and share information as it becomes available.

Our team at WeddingPro remains committed to helping you take advantage of all the small business assistance resources and information relevant to our industry so you can maximize the benefit to your business.

Disclaimer: In these blog posts, we provide information from trusted sources and government agencies as it becomes available.  Please check the links we provide and these blogs regularly as the information we receive is changing quickly. We can’t provide you legal, financial or tax advice so please check with your advisors to make sure that any action you take is the best one for you.

Photo Credit: shutterstock.com/Dean Drobot