Greg's Corner

Tagged: IRS Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on April 20, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: economic impact payment ( 21 ), economic relief checks ( 14 ), IRS, stimulus checks ( 19 )   

  What’s keeping your stimulus check? 

  

  We’ve been trying to keep our readers informed about the economic impact payments that most taxpayers are set to receive. However, one of the questions we keep receiving is “Why haven’t I received my payment yet?” While we can’t tell everyone what’s going on with each individual payment, we can at least try to tell our readers the most common reasons why payments have not been received yet.

  The most common reason is that the IRS hasn’t issued the payment yet. Due to the massive scope of this undertaking, some payments may not be released for months. If you go to the IRS’s Get My Payment tool and you receive the ‘payment status not available’ message, that could mean a few things. It could be because you entered your information incorrectly. Be careful when entering your information to make sure you haven’t made a typo. If you’ve filed your 2019 taxes but they haven’t been processed by the IRS yet, that could also hold up your stimulus payment. Your payment could also be delayed if your bank is having to deal with additional demands due to the stimulus payments.

  However, what you may not know is that if you filed your taxes through a professional service like H&R Block, your payment may be sent by mail. If you used a service that allowed you to get an advance on your tax refund, there’s a good chance that the IRS does not have your banking information on file. Those services often use debit cards that are attached to temporary bank accounts. If the temporary account is closed the payment will be rejected and then you’ll have to wait for a paper check.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNei9x-l4yM%5D

  Please keep in mind that not everyone is going to get their stimulus payment right away and you should plan your current finances accordingly.

  (H/T CNet)

  Geebo, Rahmere Cannady, Juanita May, and 2 others are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
  • 

    Bonnie Cantley Williams 9:39 am on April 24, 2020 Permalink

    ON SOCIAL SECURITY .NOT REQUIRED TO PAY TAXES.WHEN WILL I GET MY STIMULUS CHECK?

  • 

    Pamela J Martinez 9:12 pm on April 25, 2020 Permalink

    I wanted to enter my payment information for direct deposit for my stimulus money. Filed 2019 tax return, no refund, no money owed. Cannot hit submit because I did not mark refund or money owed. What can I do?

  • 

    Geebo 11:53 am on April 26, 2020 Permalink

    While we, unfortunately, don’t have the answer for every situation from what we understand, people on disability will receive their stimulus payment the same way they receive their disability payments.

    This is according to the AARP.

    The automatic payments will be issued no later than early May in the same manner SSI recipients normally receive benefits: by direct deposit, paper check or Direct Express debit card.

    https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/info-2020/ssi-eligibility-stimulus-checks.html

  • 

    Geebo 11:55 am on April 26, 2020 Permalink

    From what we understand, when submitting your banking info you can select one of those options and input $0.00 as the amount.

  • 

    Juanita May 9:09 pm on April 26, 2020 Permalink

    I am on SSDI And SSI.when will I Receive my Stimulus check.

  • 

    Geebo 8:23 am on April 27, 2020 Permalink

    From what we understand, payments should start to go out this week.

  • 

    Rahmere Cannady 1:59 pm on April 30, 2020 Permalink

    I filed 2018 and didn’t get my federal tax return or no 2020 stiumlus

  • 

    Geebo 2:43 pm on April 30, 2020 Permalink

    According to reports, payments are still in the process of being issued.

  Leave a ReplyCancel reply
• 

  Geebo 9:00 am on February 6, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: identity theft ( 105 ), income tax ( 13 ), IRS, Scams ( 1,354 ), social security ( 29 ), tax ( 3 ), taxes ( 8 )   

  Identity thieves could steal your tax refund 

  

  We’ve discussed IRS scams in the past but those scams usually involve someone posing as an IRS agent demanding money from their victims. Now, with it being tax season, there is a whole different scam to be on the lookout for and that’s the tax identity theft scam. In this scam, identity thieves get a hold of your Social Security number and try to steal your tax return using your personal information. With the advent of electronic filing and direct payments, it’s easier than ever for someone to file a phony tax return before the victim even knows about it.

  One of the main ways that identity thieves steal your personal information during tax season is posing as tax preparers. If you’re going to have your taxes prepared professionally stick with the more reputable and well-known firms. If you’re going to use a local tax preparer for the first time, do your research on their reputation and performance. A number of fly by night operations seem to pop up out of nowhere during tax season. If they’re offering their service at below-market costs this could be an indicator that they’re not on the up and up.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeUBklHuH3M%5D

  The best way to avoid this scam is to file your return as early as possible. Basically, you want to try and get your return in before any potential identity thieves do. If you’re filing by mail you should take your return directly to your local post office and not risk leaving it to sit in a mailbox. And definitely don’t leave it in your own mailbox for the postal carrier to pick it up. It could be easily stolen from your mailbox that way.

  If you receive a letter from the IRS stating that a duplicate return has been received get in touch with them right away as that means that someone did, in fact, file a return in your name.

   
• 

  Geebo 9:00 am on November 11, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: grants ( 14 ), healthcare ( 39 ), IRS, Scams ( 1,354 ), veterans ( 8 ), Veterans Day ( 2 )   

  Scams that veterans should be aware of 

  

  With today being Veterans Day it only seems fitting that we should look out for those who have given so much for our country. It seems that veterans are often targeted in government impostor scams. Since veterans often have to deal with several government agencies about benefits and services hearing from the government may not seem that out of the ordinary. Scammers will try to take advantage of the frequency that veterans deal with the government in hopes that the victim of their scam will believe that they are calling from the government. However, most of the scams they try to commit are also some of the same scams civilians have to deal with.

  The most common scam reported by veterans is the IRS impersonation scam. This is where scammers will pose as IRS agents and try to persuade their victims into believing that they owe back taxes. The scammers will try to pressure their victims into making a payment as soon as possible either through wire transfer or gift cards. The next common scam for veterans is the grant scam where the victim will receive a message on social media from a friend’s compromised account telling the victim they can get federal grant money. The scammers will then say that in order to get the grant the victim will need to pay a processing fee which will disappear as soon as it’s paid. And lastly, scammers will pose as being from the VA in order to try to get medical and healthcare information from the victim.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyG7BrXIXWk%5D

  As with most government scams, the ways of prevention remain the same. If the government really needs to get a hold of you they will more than likely contact you by mail. The government will also never ask for payment over the phone through wire transfer or gift cards. Those are tools of choice used in most scams today. And as always, if you receive one of these calls and you may believe that there is an issue with one of these agencies, hang up and call the agency back at their proper phone number.

   
• 

  Geebo 10:59 am on February 13, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: court fines, Detroit ( 4 ), IRS, phishing ( 75 ), Scams ( 1,354 )   

  Don’t pay your fines through Facebook 

  

  Recently in Detroit, a new twist on an old scam has reared its ugly head. People posing as city employees are sending messages to people on Facebook telling victims that they owe court costs to the city. Instead of mailing a check to city hall the victims are informed to wire the money in order to receive a discount on their alleged fine. As is usual with the wire scam, when you wire money to someone you don’t know they make off with your money and you have little to no recourse to get your money back, and you’ll still owe your fine if you own one. Unless it’s too a friend or relative that has approached you personally, never wire money for any kind of transaction. It’s too easy to be ripped off.

  This is reminiscent of the IRS scam where people posing as the IRS will call you demanding payment over the phone claiming that you owe back taxes. The IRS has repeatedly told the public that they do not contact taxpayers by phone.

  So please keep in mind that municipal or government agencies will not contact you through social media since social media accounts could actually belong to anybody and not necessarily the person they would try to reach. If you receive any kind of correspondence from a government agency that you believe may be a scam, look up the number for that agency and give them a call.