Stimulus Check: Will It Affect Your Taxes & Repayment?
You've got questions and we've got answers about your Covid-19 Stimulus Checks. Or Recovery Rebates. Economic Impact Payments? A lot of them center around how it will affect your taxes and will we have to repay them? Our friends at Forbes help to shine a light on a couple of specifics. And we went straight to the source: The IRS.
- Eligible taxpayers who filed tax returns for either 2019 or 2018 will automatically receive an economic impact payment of up to $1,200 for individuals or $2,400 for married couples and up to $500 for each qualifying child. (IRS)
The vast majority of people do not need to take any action. The IRS will calculate and automatically send the economic impact payment to those eligible.
For people who have already filed their 2019 tax returns, the IRS will use this information to calculate the payment amount. For those who have not yet filed their return for 2019, the IRS will use information from their 2018 tax filing to calculate the payment. The economic impact payment will be deposited directly into the same banking account reflected on the return filed. (IRS)
This is not taxable income. It won't boost your income and won't affect your benefits. (Forbes)
You will not have to pay it back. It is an advance, but it’s an advance of a new, temporary credit for 2020. It will not affect your “normal” refund in 2020. The only folks who should see a difference are those who didn’t get the advance this year but were due one - they’ll get more since they’ll get the credit in 2021 (for the 2020 tax year). You can read more about how it works - with an example - here. (Forbes)