This is a public service reminder that it pays to open your mail. You may have heard that the US Treasury has issued four million prepaid debit cards instead of paper checks for stimulus payments. You may even have received one and, like many people who were expecting a check from the IRS, been confused and/or skeptical. We just hope you didn’t mistake it for junkmail.
It has been reported to us from clients who have received the debit cards that they arrive in a #10 standard white business envelope with first-class postage (not bulk mail). The return address is from Money Network Cardholder Services in Omaha, NE. Inside is a blue Visa debit card with white stars on it.There is a small sheet of paper enclosed that includes the blue and gold Treasury seal with Department of Treasury (see below). The insert reads: “This prepaid debit card is being sent to you on behalf of the US Department of the Treasury in place of a paper check. This card contains the money you are receiving as result of the Corona Aid Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). For additional information on Economic Impact Payments visit irs.gov/eip. This is safe, convenient, and secure.”
The envelope also comes with instructions on how to activate your card, which you can also find here: https://www.eipcard.com/ . You will need to register as a new user before you can access the funds. If you received the card and threw it away by mistake, you can request a replacement card by calling MetaBank Customer Service at 1-800-240-8100. this is the same number to check your balance.
IRS has also set up an FAQ page for taxpayers here.
Before you throw away that unexpected envelope from the Mass Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA), you need to be aware of a new identity theft scam related to COVID-19 unemployment claims.
We recently became aware of letters from the DUA indicating eligibility and a monetary determination have been showing up in the mailboxes of people who have not filed for, nor are currently collecting unemployment. The scary part is that the letters are legitimately from DUA, but if you haven’t filed, it means that a scammer has filed using your information and is banking on you throwing away that envelope without opening it.
If this happens, the criminal can log on as “you” every week and request the funds be issued on debit cards. You would have no way of knowing until tax time, when you will have to prove that you never received unemployment benefits, and/or if later deemed ineligible, be required to pay the money back.
Like many scams, the perpetrators are hoping that you will ignore the unanticipated communication so that they can steal your identity and go undetected long enough to make some money and ruin your credit.
The lesson here is: Open your mail. Even if it looks like junk mail, the minute or so it takes to open the envelope and scan the contents is nothing compared to the time you might have to spend later on unraveling the damage and reinstating your good name and credit.
We are currently staffing the office with one or two people most days in an effort to expedite the processing of outstanding returns, but are not equipped to conduct in-person client visits at this time.
Please remember that our entire office building is locked on Sundays, so no documents can be dropped off or retrieved.
Just another reminder, if we still need to prepare your 2019 return and don’t have all of your information, please send as soon as you can, through the portal if possible, or to our mailing address:
Business Bookkeeping Services P. O. Box 249 South Weymouth, MA 02190
Our previous posts shared information about the stimulus timeline and how to calculate the amount you can expect to receive based on your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). This has led to people wondering…Where can I find my AGI?
The answer is simple. Your AGI is on your tax return, and here is how to find it:
If you have filed for this year, the IRS will use the number found on Line 8b of your 2019 return, as shown below.
If you have not yet filed this year, IRS will use the AGI found on Line 7 of your 2018 return.
Once you know your AGI, you can visit the IRS site to check the status and calculate your expected payment.
Important Notes:
If you did not file taxes for 2018 and 2019, you can enter your information through the IRS online tool found at this link. Non-Filers: Enter Your Payment Info
If you receive Social Security or Veteran’s benefits, you should automatically receive your stimulus payment.
Earlier this month Congressman Richard Neal, the Chairman of the House Committee on Ways & Means, issued a release detailing the timeline for economic stimulus payments.
This is the best information we have seen regarding the plan for distribution of money to US citizens under the CARES Act, and we have listed some of the key takeaways below. You can click here to read the full letter.
Key Takeaways:
IRS began issuing payments the week of April 13th.
Individuals who have provided direct deposit information to the IRS, either on their 2018 or 2019 returns or through the “Get My Payment” link should see payments first.
Paper checks will be issued in reverse “adjusted gross income” order—starting with people with the lowest income first.
Paper checks for all others will be issued at a rate of about 5 million per week, which could take up to 20 weeks.
We have created the charts below to show you how the payments are being calculated, and to help figure out how much you should expect.
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Please note that payments are not being delayed if your 2019 taxes have yet to be filed. IRS will use information from 2018 returns when necessary for non-filers and regular taxpayers alike. We encourage you to access the Get My Payment tool on the IRS site to determine your actual payment amount, as well as to provide your most up-to-date bank and/or mailing information, if necessary.
We Remain Closed in Compliance with the Stay at Home Order
Our office will remain closed until statewide restrictions are lifted. For those of you whose returns are still in process, we are working to set up one day a week for you to sign and retrieve your documents.
If you prefer, we are more than happy to send your documents via US mail. Stay tuned for more information!
Economic impact payments from the Federal Government are arriving in bank accounts this week for some taxpayers who e-filed early and opted for direct deposit. These “stimulus checks” are separate from your regular tax refund, and are being handled entirely by IRS, so we do not have any information on individual payments for our clients.
While the $1200 per citizen and $500 per child amounts are what people have heard and are expecting, IRS has a formula for determining who gets how much. We can tell you, however, that it is our understanding the $500 per child payments only apply if the child is under 17 years of age.
Luckily, the IRS has set up online tools to check the status of your payment, and to determine if “non-filers” qualify for payment and/or need to submit an application. At the time we are sending this newsletter there is a placeholder for the “Where’s My Payment” tool on the irs.gov website, with a note indicating that it is scheduled to be available in “mid-April.” The non-filer application tool is currently active, though, and the home page includes a brief and helpful description of qualifications to see if you should submit an application. You can access both on the IRS.gov website through this link.
Tax day is one of those dates that you remember because it’s (almost) always the same, and it always seems to arrive sooner than you’d like. This year, though, it is one of the many constants that had to be changed due to the pandemic. Perhaps because the federal government and the state announced it separately, there has been some confusion about what is due when. Whatever the reason, we are here to reassure everyone that the deadline for filing both state and federal taxes this year is July 15, 2020.
We still recommend not waiting until the last minute, but the July 15th deadline gives taxpayers a grace period of three months to file this year, so there is no need to panic today. And remember: If you owe money on your taxes, you can file anytime now and still delay payment until July 15th.
With so many people in the Commonwealth facing the challenges of layoffs and lost income right now, the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assitance (DUA) has made available an excellent, step-by-step guide to applying for unemployment benefits.
The Massachusetts DUA has further announced that a dedicated online platform is being built for self-employed workers to to apply for unemployment benefits under the CARES Act. Those who qualify for this new benefit, called “Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)” may be eligible for retroactive compensation. Although the hope was that the platform would be active in mid-March, delays have pushed the current scheduled launch date to April 30, 2020. More information is available through the Mass DUA site here.
