Stimulus Check? I Didn’t Get No Stinking Stimulus Check

Oh, yes you did! We know it’s February 2022, and the third round of stimulus checks went out in March of 2021, but don’t forget them. They really happened, and you probably received one. We know it’s super confusing, since there were two other payments, and it was so long ago, and one of those payments came in 2021 but was reported on the 2020 tax return. We get it. We never said the IRS made sense.

When you bring your tax return to us this year, please bring a copy of Notice 1444-C, which shows the amount of your third Economic Impact Payment. If you don’t have that, Letter 6475 is being sent out by the IRS through March 2022. This letter confirms the amount of the third payment.

What if you don’t receive these letters? Please review your banking records and tell us the amount of the payment you received. This will be difficult if you did not have direct deposit, but not impossible. Online banking has come a long way, and you should be able to see a copy of the checks you deposited in a manual deposit. Your bank can help you with this. You can also log into your account with the IRS at www.irs.gov to view your activity for 2021. Finally, your income in 2019 may have been too high to receive a payment. We can check that for you, and we will if you report not receiving any payments.

Why is this important? Well, it’s reported on your tax return. If you report an incorrect amount, it won’t match the amount the IRS has for you and will hold up processing of your refund. That got your attention, didn’t it?

We know you want to have your tax return prepared early. We have noticed clients coming in earlier this year than in years past. Although, we are tickled to death to be working on your tax returns early, please make sure you have all your information, including the correct amount of your stimulus check.