GREENSBORO, N.C. — Stimulus. Stimulus. Stimulus. Where's my stimulus? When will I get my stimulus? How do I check on my stimulus? They're all questions we get at WFMY News 2 daily.
So, Mark Hensley from AARP NC Triad Region, Kevin Robinson from Robinson Tax and Accounting, and Scott Braddock with Scott Braddock Financial joined Tanya Rivera on WFMY News 2 to answer viewer stimulus questions.
The IRS Get My Payment portal is once again active so you can check the status of your stimulus payment (also known as EIP, Economic Impact Payment). The portal will tell you:
-That the IRS sent your second Economic Impact Payment, also known as a stimulus payment.
-That the IRS sent your first payment. Some people received their first Economic Impact Payment in partial payments. If you received partial payments, the application will show only the most recent.
-Your payment type: direct deposit or mail.
Data is updated once per day overnight, so there's no need to check more than once per day.
The IRS says it could take three to four weeks for the check to get to you even though you're "mailed date" was a week or so ago. The reason? The date which showed a "mailed by" date, is more like the date your money was released so the check could be printed and mailed. So, when will your check get to your mailbox? You can know the day it is going to hit your mailbox if you use the USPS informed delivery service.
"STATUS UNAVAILABLE": HOW YOU GET YOUR STIMULUS
If your status says unavailable, that doesn’t mean you are totally out of getting or claiming the stimulus money. Your next step is to file taxes electronically and claim the stimulus money that way. Even if you don’t normally file taxes, you will need to file to see if there is any money through the Recovery Rebate Credit. There are several ways for you to file for free.
The credit is line 30 of all tax return forms.
EVEN IF YOU DON'T FILE TAXES, YOUR 2020 RETURN MAY BE THE ONLY WAY TO GET YOUR STIMULUS MONEY
This is the ONLY way for you to possibly claim the rest of the stimulus money. The IRS has nine options for you to file for FREE electronically. In fact, any taxpayer or family making less than $72,000 a year can file for free.
AARP Tax Aid can help you with e-filing. Volunteers and workers are being trained now. Operations open 2/12/2021.
DEBIT CARDS
Did you throw out your debit card? Call MetaBank at 800-240-8100
STIMULUS #3
When it comes to a proposed third stimulus plan, President Joe Biden and a group of 10 Senate Republicans have offered competing proposals. The Republican plan offers less money in terms of direct payments and significantly fewer Americans would be eligible to receive it -- it's being called a "targeted" plan. The price tag on Biden's plan is $1.9 trillion while the GOP proposal is about one-third that.