There’s a recurring theme in the thousands of emails I’ve received from readers about stimulus checks over the past few weeks, and it goes something like this: How do I keep my stimulus check from being taken? The details may change from one taxpayer to the next, but it’s clear that many taxpayers are worried about…
Earlier this week, the House introduced the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, or HEROES Act (you can read my summary here). Included in the bill were corrections to the CARES Act and an additional round of stimulus checks. It’s a controversial bill with some saying that the timing isn’t right. That brings…
J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), is urging all taxpayers to stay alert to ensure that they do not lose their Economic Impact Payments (EIPs), also called stimulus checks, to thieves and scammers. TIGTA is responsible for conducting statutory oversight of issues relating to federal tax administration. As such, it regularly…
Whether you’re reading this from your living room while in your pajamas, or safely tucked away in your newly-renovated laundry room turned home office, you’ll probably agree that employment has changed over the past several weeks. Because of COVID-19, governors and municipalities have issued stay-at-home and other orders, resulting in the complete or partial shutdowns…
After weeks of will they or won’t they, they did: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a new COVID-19 economic relief proposal. The bill is known as the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, or HEROES Act. Just like the last House proposal (which eventually became the CARES Act), the HEROES Act bill is hefty, weighing…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury have announced that they have delivered nearly 130 million Economic Impact Payments (EIPs, or stimulus checks) to Americans. More are on the way. I know – and you know – that some Americans may have received a payment amount different than what they expected. The IRS has some explanations for…
As the COVID-19 crisis continues to roil the economy, all eyes seemed to be focused on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). But that’s not the only option for relief for struggling small businesses. One opportunity that’s often overlooked is the Employee Retention Credit or ERC. It’s found in the CARES Act, and like the PPP, it’s designed…
It appears that two New England businessmen took the concept of “free money” way too far. David A. Staveley (a/k/a Kurt D. Sanborn) of Andover, Massachusetts, and David Butziger of Warwick, Rhode Island, have been accused of conspiring to illegally obtain funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP offers billions of dollars in potentially forgivable loans…
For weeks, I’ve been fielding questions from taxpayers who were hoping to have their stimulus checks applied to pre-paid debit or benefits cards. That is the case for some taxpayers, but most taxpayers have only two options: direct deposit or paper check. Both of them require access to a bank account or a check-cashing service. There’s…
First things first: as of today, the 2019 tax filing season deadline remains July 15, 2020. I just wanted to get that out of the way since there are so many headlines suggesting that there’s a change on the way. As of today, nothing has changed. Here’s where we stand. On March 20, 2020, the IRS officially…