DREAM Act Portal Forum - Q/A about Stimulus check

I thought this information would be helpful for all of you here and will answer potential questions that you might have.

1. Who is eligible?

The bill makes clear that everyone is eligible except for nonresident aliens and those who can be used as the basis for deductions for another person. A nonresident alien is a person who is not a U.S. citizen and does not pass the green card or substantial presence tests used to determine tax status. We DACA holders pass the substantial presence test. Per IRS guide you will be considered a United States resident for tax purposes if you meet the substantial presence test for the calendar year. To meet this test, you must be physically present in the United States (U.S.) on at least: 31 days during the current year, and 183 days during the 3-year period that includes the current year and the 2 years immediately before that.

2. SSN Requirement: Taxpayers would be required to provide a Social Security number (SSN) for themselves, their spouse (if married filing jointly), and any child for whom they claim the $500 child credit. Adoption taxpayer ID numbers (ATINs) are also acceptable for adopted children. Taxpayers who provide an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN**) would be ineligible for the credit.** Hence, married couples in which one spouse has an SSN and another has an ITIN would generally be ineligible for the credit.

3. Taxpayers making $75,000 and below will receive a $1,200 check.

Married couples making $150,000 and below will receive $2,400. Individuals and couples under this earnings cap would also receive $500 per child who is 16 or under.

4. Are the payments taxable income?

No. They won’t be considered as income on your 2020 tax return.

5. What about people who owe money to the IRS for prior years?

Other IRS liabilities won’t come out of the payments and even people who owe back taxes should get the full amount they qualify for.

6. How many payments would there be?

Just one. Future bills could order up additional payments, though.

7. Do college students get anything?

Not if anyone claims them as a dependent on a tax return. Usually, students under age 24 are dependents in the eyes of the taxing authorities if a parent pays for at least half of their expenses.

8. The earnings threshold is measured by adjusted gross income.

That is, gross income, minus deductions. (The adjusted gross income number is on Box 7 in a person’s 1040 form.)

9. The IRS will transmit the payment via a direct deposit.

It will use the bank-account information from the taxpayer’s 2018 or 2019 return. Tax season for the 2019 return is open until July 15. The Treasury Department pushed back both the income tax payment and filing deadlines from April 15 to July 15 to free up cash individuals and businesses might need now.

10. When would the payment arrive?

The IRS could start issuing payments within three weeks, said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The agency hasn’t announced a schedule. It will be able to move fastest for people who have filed 2019 tax returns with direct-deposit information and significantly slower for those who will need paper checks.

The IRS will provide updated information on its website about the process but is urging people not to call yet.

11. If my payment doesn’t come soon, how can I be sure that it wasn’t misdirected?

According to the bill, you would get a paper notice in the mail no later than a few weeks after your payment had been disbursed. That notice would contain information about where the payment ended up and in what form it was made. If you couldn’t locate the payment at that point, it would be time to contact the I.R.S. using the information on the notice.

12. What if I haven’t filed tax returns recently? Would that affect my ability to receive a payment?

It could. File a return immediately, at least for 2018, according to the I.R.S. website. “Those without 2018 tax filings on record could potentially affect mailings of stimulus checks,” the site says.

If you have other questions post them here. I will try to answer them and everyone else can contribute also.