Haven’t Gotten Stimulus Check? You’ll Have Claim it on Your Taxes

(Author's note: This story comes from my friend and colleague in Townsquare Media, the "Painman" himself, Frank Pain at Rock 108 KEYJ-FM in Abilene, TX. I thought it might have some useful information for you if you have not gotten your $600 stimulus check yet from the U.S. Treasury Department.)

If you, like Frank as well as thousands of others,haven't seen your stimulus check arrive yet, you may want to check the Get My Payment section at IRS.gov.

If you see a message like the one Frank did (see: below) you'll have to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit when you file your 2020 income tax return. Not exactly cold, hard cash in your pocket, no?

When he went to the Frequently Asked Questions section to find out what was going on, he found out that if you haven't gotten your stimulus money as of January 5th (Tuesday) you likely won't be getting a check.

Here is the bullet point that addresses those that are getting a "Not Available" status:.

Because of the speed at which the law required the IRS to issue the second round of Economic Impact Payments, some payments may have been sent to an account that may be closed or, is or no longer active, or unfamiliar. By law, the financial institution must return the payment to the IRS; they cannot hold and issue the payment to an individual when the account is no longer active. If Get My Payment shows “Payment Status #2 – Not Available” you will not receive a second EIP.

The IRS advises people that if they don’t receive their Economic Impact Payment, they should file their 2020 tax return electronically and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their tax return to get their payment and any refund as quickly as possible. [IRS.gov]

As Frank now knows all too well, it's probably best to do your own due diligence. His advice?  "Check the status of your payment via the Get My Payment section of the IRS website."

I hope that helps! And thank you Frank Pain for sharing what you have learned!

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Keep on rockin' in the free world! \m/ \m/
Todd E. Lyons, Esq.