It looks like the government is making it a lot easier for Social Security beneficiaries to receive their coronavirus stimulus checks.
“Social Security recipients who are not typically required to file a tax return need to take no action, and will receive their payment directly to their bank account.”
The Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department reversed course late Wednesday and announced the government will not require Social Security beneficiaries to file a simple tax return in order to receive their stimulus check.
“Social Security recipients who are not typically required to file a tax return need to take no action, and will receive their payment directly to their bank account,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement Wednesday.
This is great news for any Social Security recipients who may not have to file because their adjusted gross income doesn’t meet the tax threshold.
The IRS and Treasury said they would use 1099 documents — Form SSA-1099 or Form RRB-1099 — for any Social Security recipients who did not file a normal tax return in 2018 or 2019.
“Recipients will receive these payments as a direct deposit or by paper check, just as they would normally receive their benefits,” the two agencies said in a statement.
The stimulus checks are part of a $2.2 trillion bill that provides aid to individuals, businesses and other organizations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. A $1,200 direct payment will will go out to any individual tax filers with an income up to $75,000, and $2,400 for joint filers with income up to $150,000.
While Social Security beneficiaries are eligible for the stimulus check, originally they would have had to file a simple tax return to receive the payment. This change will make it much easier for everyone involved, and it ensures that any eligible beneficiaries won’t have to jump through extra hoops.
Chuck Marr, director of federal tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said that while the move is the right one, the agencies need to go further to help other beneficiaries that may still have to file.
“Now it’s imperative that the Administration use its authority and the information it already has to do the same for very low-income seniors and people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income as well as low-income veterans who receive certain benefits from the Veterans Administration,” Marr said in a statement, according to CNBC.
The move overall clears up a lot of confusion surrounding Social Security and the stimulus checks. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES Act, originally authorized the use of Social Security 1099 forms for the payments, but the IRS originally said Monday anyone who hasn’t filed taxes in the last two years would have to file a simple tax return.
This quick reversal was the right move, and it means that if you are on Social Security and eligible for the stimulus checks, you won’t have to deal with the tax man to get it.
• You can find all of the latest and most important news about Social Security here on Money and Markets.