The CARES Act provides for stimulus payments to go to eligible individuals, including those collecting Social Security benefits. The IRS will compute the payment based on information on the taxpayer’s 2019 tax return, or 2018’s if 2019 has not yet been filed. Originally, those who haven’t needed to file tax returns previously would have had to file an abbreviated tax return just to prove eligibility for the payment.
The Treasury announced on April 1, 2020 that Social Security beneficiaries who do not usually have to file an income tax return now do not need to file an abbreviated tax return to receive an economic impact payment. Instead, the IRS will use the information provided on Form SSA-1099 to compute the payment amount.
Social Security beneficiaries, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients, will receive their economic impact payments however they normally receive their benefits, i.e. direct deposit, paper check.
For SSI recipients, such as those who are disabled, this payment will not be counted as income and the payment is excluded from resources for 12 months so as not to jeopardize their SSI benefits.
If you have any questions regarding these payments, don’t hesitate to reach out to our experts at The Bonadio Group.
The information and advice we are providing for this matter relates to COVID-19 legislative relief measures. Because legislative efforts are still ongoing, we expect that there may be additional guidance and clarification from regulators that could modify some of the advice and information provided to you, after the conclusion of our engagement. We therefore make no warranties, expressed or implied, on the services provided hereunder.