Economic Stimulus Payment Detours

The check is in the mail or is it? A tax rebate to help stimulate the economy, in theory, may be beneficial, but the implementation across the board is not always simple. As with most plans of this magnitude, there are glitches. The IRS along with tax preparers are trying to help the taxpaying public get answers to their questions concerning the Economic Stimulus Payment (ESP).

Many questions can be answered quickly by logging on to the IRS Website. A taxpayer can find answers to questions of when, how much, eligibility, direct deposit or paper check and much more by just a click of the mouse. There is also information regarding payment schedule and alerts about scams that are happening in regard to the ESP. The IRS Website is updated frequently and may provide the most expeditious way to answer taxpayer questions. The ESP calculator is also helpful.

www.irs.gov “IRS Answers the Most Asked Rebate Questions”

 

Tax preparers are being challenged with answers to some more in depth issues concerning the ESP…

• Dependent payments omitted – (Second mail-out in July)
• Split Refunds (going to wrong accounts)
• Taxpayers who filed close to the April deadline (may not receive stimulus payment until later
• Injured Spouse

Helping the taxpaying public to understand the confusion surrounding the Economic Stimulus Payment is one of many services provided by the CPA in the every changing world of taxation. The answers may be in the mail!

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IRS Experiences Tax Rebate Glitches

The Internal Revenue Service will mail out approximately 350,000 additional economic stimulus payments starting in early July, after discovering that some tax returns did not capture the information needed to generate the $300-per-child payments.

In some instances, the IRS said, taxpayers did not check the proper box to trigger the $300 child payment. In other instances, a few tax software products primarily used by tax professionals did not capture the proper information needed for issuing the child stimulus payment.

The IRS has worked closely with the two affected software vendors, and they have reported to the IRS that their software has been corrected. They are Petz Enterprises’ professional and online software, and CCH’s ProSystems fx Tax software and online CompleteTax software.

To fix the problem, the IRS is taking extra steps to identify the affected taxpayers and send them separate checks to cover their qualifying children. The IRS emphasized that the corrected checks will be mailed automatically, and taxpayers don’t need to call or take any additional steps.

The IRS also said that it has deposited about 1,500 tax rebates and economic stimulus payments in the incorrect bank accounts. The IRS is working on a case-by-case basis with taxpayers and banks to fix the problem.