How to Claim Your Stimulus Check on Your 2020 Taxes

Are you still waiting on money from either round of COVID-19 stimulus checks? If you haven’t gotten it by now, your best bet to get the money is to add it into your tax return with the Recovery Rebate Credit.

Wondering how to claim your stimulus check on your 2020 taxes in Round Rock, TX? Here’s a quick overview of what you should know about getting the money you’re owed.

About the Recovery Rebate

Anyone who did not receive any or all of the stimulus money owed to them is eligible to claim the rebate, so long as they are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, have a Social Security number and cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person’s taxes in 2020. For example, some college students or other adults will not be eligible for the rebate if their parents or someone else still claims them as a dependent.

As for how much money you’re owed, this depends on your individual circumstances. For both rounds of stimulus checks that have gone out so far, the amount of money you get depends on your adjusted gross income (AGI). If you’re a single filer with an AGI of less than $75,000 or a head of household with an AGI below $112,500, you are eligible to receive the full payment. Married couples filing jointly are eligible for the full payment with an AGI below $150,000.

The payments decrease by $5 for every $100 over the AGI, with payments stopping at $99,000 for single filers, $136,500 for heads of household and $198,000 for joint filers in the first round. In the second round, payments stop at $87,000 for single filers, $124,500 for heads of household and $174,000 for joint filers.

Total payments were $1,200 per individual and $500 per qualifying dependent for round one, and $600 per individual and dependent in round two.

When you do your taxes, you will be asked to provide information about the amount of money you have received so far in each round of stimulus payments. Based on the information you provide, you can then calculate how much you are still owed and thus can add directly to your tax refund (or subtract from your tax bill) as a tax credit.

We strongly recommend double-checking your tax refund payment method. The fastest and most reliable way to get your payments is via direct deposit. One of the reasons many people did not get their stimulus checks when they were initially sent out was that they were using a payment method other than direct deposit that resulted in the checks being delayed or lost. Direct deposit is the best way of resolving that potential problem so it does not affect you.

For more information about how to claim your stimulus check on your 2020 taxes and the steps you should take if you have not yet received your stimulus money owed to you, contact an experienced CPA in Round Rock, TX at Perrin Anderson Rastogi Tax Services LLC. We’d be glad to answer any questions you have about your taxes.

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