Debbie's Tax Service

As of this morning, the IRS has still not issued a date when they will begin processing tax returns for this tax season. The tax returns can still be calculated and prepared to go to the IRS, but they will not be processed yet. Keep in mind that if you are in a hurry to get your tax return done, make sure you have all documents, as some of them may not come to you until early Feb (some investment type documents take even longer). If you received unemployment this year, this ...IS TAXABLE on the federal and some state returns. Please make sure you have that information before you file your tax return. Some states, CA most notable, are processing returns now, so if a return is ready, it can be sent for a quick turnaround with your state. Just keep in mind that it will not yet be processed by the IRS. Refunds that include EIC or Additional Child Tax Credit cannot be issued by the IRS before mid to late Feb anyway, so do not be in too much of a rush to finish your tax return. See more

The IRS today assured taxpayers and tax professionals that updates to key federal tax forms and instructions are complete and will be available when Americans begin filing their tax returns. Most individual taxpayers file IRS Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR once they receive Forms W-2 and other earnings information from their employers and payers. IRS has incorporated recent changes to the tax laws into the forms and instructions, and shared the updates with its partners who develo...p the software used by individuals and tax professionals to prepare and file their returns. Forms 1040 and 1040-SR and the associated instructions are available now on IRS.gov and are being printed for taxpayers who need a hard copy. Economic Impact Payments are an advance payment of the Recovery Rebate Credit. Important updates include the Recovery Rebate Credit worksheet on page 59 of the 1040/1040-SR instructions. Anyone who didn’t receive the full amount of both Economic Impact Payments should include the amounts they received, before any offsets, when they file. Anyone who received the full amount for both Economic Impact Payments should not include any information about the advance payments when they file their tax return. Also new this year is the option to use prior year income amounts when computing the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit. The IRS has not yet announced a start date for the 2021 filing season. This month, the Treasury Department and the IRS are sending the second round of Economic Impact Payments to millions of Americans as part of the implementation of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. Taxpayers don’t need to take any action to receive these payments. Economic Impact Payments are automatic for eligible taxpayers who filed a 2019 tax return and those who receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits (SSDI), Railroad Retirement benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Veterans Affairs beneficiaries who didn’t file a tax return. Eligible individuals who did not receive an Economic Impact Payment either the first or the second payment can claim a Recovery Rebate Credit when they file their 2020 taxes this year. The IRS urges taxpayers who didn’t receive an advance payment to review the eligibility criteria when they file their 2020 taxes; many people, including recent college graduates, may be eligible for a credit. Eligible individuals who didn’t receive the full amount of both Economic Impact Payments should claim the missing amount as a credit. See more

Starting this week, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service are sending approximately 8 million second Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) by prepaid debit card. These EIP Cards follow the millions of payments already made by direct deposit and the ongoing mailing of paper checks that are delivering the second round of Economic Impact Payments as rapidly as possible. For those who don’t receive a direct deposit, they should watch their mail for either a paper che...ck or a prepaid debit card. To speed delivery of the payments to reach as many people as soon as possible the Treasury’s Bureau of Fiscal Service is sending payments out by prepaid debit card. IRS and Treasury urge eligible people who don’t receive a direct deposit to watch their mail carefully during this period. The prepaid debit card, called the Economic Impact Payment card, is sponsored by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service and is issued by Treasury’s financial agent, MetaBank, N.A. The IRS does not determine who receives a prepaid debit card. Taxpayers should note that the form of payment for the second mailed EIP may be different than the first mailed EIP. Some people who received a paper check last time might receive a prepaid debit card this time, and some people who received a prepaid debit card last time may receive a paper check. More information about these cards is available at EIPcard.com. EIP Cards are safe, convenient and secure. EIP Card recipients can make purchases online or in stores anywhere Visa Debit Cards are accepted. They can get cash from domestic in-network ATMs, transfer funds to a personal bank account and obtain a replacement EIP Card if needed without incurring any fees. They can also check their card balance online, through a mobile app or by phone without incurring fees. The EIP Card provides consumer protections including certain protections against fraud, loss and other errors. EIP Cards are being sent in a white envelope that prominently displays the U.S. Department of the Treasury seal. The EIP Card has the Visa name on the front of the Card and the issuing bank name, MetaBank, N.A. on the back of the card. Each mailing will include instructions on how to securely activate and use the EIP Card. See more

Starting today, people can check the status of both their first and second Stimulus payments by using the Get My Payment tool, available in English and Spanish only on IRS.gov. With this second wave of payments, the IRS cannot change payment information, including bank account or mailing information. If an eligible taxpayer does not get a payment or it is less than expected, it may be claimed on the 2020 tax return as the Recovery Rebate Credit. Remember, Economic Impact Payments are an advance payment of what will be called the Recovery Rebate Credit on the 2020 Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR. The payments are not taxable, and only need to be reported on your 2020 taxes if you did not get the full amount due to you for some reason and you wish to claim it as part of your 2020 refund.

Please note, this is the latest info from the IRS regarding payments to those who do not normally file a tax return. If you receive SSDI or Railroad retirement, payments are expected to begin next week. If you receive VA or SSI payments, these are expected to begin by mid May. IF YOU HAVE DEPENDENT CHILDREN, YOU MUST REGISTER A SIMPLE RETURN ONLINE IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE THE EXTRA $500 PER CHILD. It is now too late for SSDI recipients to do this, but VA and SSI recipients may...Continue reading

New info as of 12-29-20 IR-2020-280 WASHINGTON Today, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department will begin delivering a second round of Economic Impact Payments as part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 to millions of Americans who received the first round of payments earlier this year. The initial direct deposit payments may begin arriving as early as tonight for some and will continue into next week. Paper check...s will begin to be mailed tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec. 30. The IRS emphasizes that there is no action required by eligible individuals to receive this second payment. Some Americans may see the direct deposit payments as pending or as provisional payments in their accounts before the official payment date of Jan. 4, 2021. The IRS reminds taxpayers that the payments are automatic, and they should not contact their financial institutions or the IRS with payment timing questions.

This is very time sensitive info: Some of the latest info regarding the stimulus payment and those who do not normally have to file a return. If you are a recipient of Social Security and you don't normally file a return, it appears that the IRS is getting ready to send payments out. This is automatic and will be paid in the same manner as you already receive your social security payments. Please note, if you are married and only one of you receives social security, and you ...don't normally file a return, you should go to www.irs.gov and provide info for both of you. Otherwise you will likely only get the payment for one of you. Also, if you have children under 17 who are dependent on your for support, you need to provide info for those children in order to receive the $500 payment for each of them. The addition of a spouse or children is not automatic if you have not already filed a tax return. The IRS has just issued IR 2020-76 notice stating that those who are in the social security non filing category have until this Wed, Apr 22nd to file and provide the additional dependent or spouse information. If the information is not provided by this Wed, the payment likely is going to be processed without the additional money. Once it is processed without the additional money, you cannot file to get more back currently, you likely will have to wait until 2021 to get the payment on a 2020 filed tax return. Please let everyone that you know who has social security income and who does not normally file a tax return know this. If you have family members who should get the payment (spouse with no social security or a child under 17), then they are being asked to file using the Non-Filers tool on www.irs.gov no later than this coming Wed! There are other groups that will also be receiving their payment automatically, such as SSI recipients and VA disability recipients. They need to also provide information to the IRS if they have family members as described above. They will have a little more time to file with the IRS, as the notice states that those recipients are not the next group that is being deposited. They do still need to file though, otherwise they may not get the full payment that is due. Once the IRS processes the payment, it is too late to provide the info and get the additional amount now. It will have to be filed for later. The Non-Filer tool online is fairly simple to use. Go to www.irs.gov and click on the link that says "Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here". If someone is not able to use this link, or if they need assistance with providing the info, we can assist you free of charge to file the info from our professional software and the info will get to the IRS quickly and securely. Please pass this info on to all who may not know that they are due to receive a stimulus payment.

Here is the latest info release just out from the IRS, it has been modified down somewhat to reduce the length of the reading. Please note that the section regarding those with children is important for SSDI and VA payment recipients. A qualifying child is a dependent child who is under 17: "IR 2020-75. The Internal Revenue Service, working in partnership with the Treasury Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs, announced today that recipients of VA benefits will a...Continue reading

For anyone who has filed either a 2018 or 2019 tax return, but who did not give their direct deposit bank information to the IRS either because they owed or because they wanted their refund mailed to them. The IRS now has an active link on their website for providing your bank information for the payment of the Economic Impact Payment (Stimulus check). Go to www.irs.gov and then click on the link that says "Get Info on Economic Impact Payments". On that page you will see a link that says "Get My Payment". Click on that link and then put in the SSN of the primary filer on the return, provide the requested info, and then give them your bank info. This should help the IRS get your payment to you sooner.

More news! For those who are waiting for a method to provide direct deposit information to the IRS because they filed their taxes without providing direct deposit info to them, there will be a link that is supposed to be working in mid-April. It is the same link as the one that is for checking the status of your stimulus payment, and it is called "Get My Payment". It is located on the IRS site, www.irs.gov. and by clicking on the link for "Get Info on Economic Impact Payments...". Only use this source for providing your bank info, not another online source. Something provided elsewhere may be fraudulent. If you already provided bank info when you filed because you were already getting a refund, or to allow the IRS to debit your account if you owed, then you do not need to provide it here. Use this link also if your bank info changed since you filed your taxes. The link does not work yet, but check it regularly as it is supposed to be up in the next week or so. See more

The IRS also announced today that they expect to start sending out stimulus payments (Economic Impact Payments) next week. They are also saying that by April 17th they will also have a link on their website that will allow people to check what the status is of their payments, and when they can be expected to be paid. The link will probably get overloaded for awhile, but at least they are trying to get something out there. This will all be on www.irs.gov. Do not trust any other online source for the info, as it may very well be fraudulent. There are a lot of scams out there trying to trick people.

The IRS has just released a link for non-filers to provide their information in order to receive the stimulus payment. This link is for those who do not have a need to file a return due to low or no income, or who have non taxable income such as VA disability payments. This link is NOT for anyone who has already filed a return in 2019 or 2018, or those who receive social security payments. Social Security is already providing the info on your address, income, direct deposit i...nfo, etc. to the IRS for the payment of the stimulus. If you do not get social security, or if you have social security but also have dependent children under 17 who are not claimed as a dependent already on another tax return, then this link is the way to provide the info to the IRS. Please spread this info out to anyone you know who might fall into this category, particularly those who receive disability payments only, and low income people with children. On a side note, we have already tried the link a few times and could not get it to work. It probably is overloaded. If you know someone who is trying to use this link and cannot get through, we can also file a very basic return that is the same as what is being filed there. NO INCOME INFO IS NEEDED, only the SSN, name, address, bank info and dependent info. Contact us if you would like this service provided and the link on www.irs.gov does not work for you. It is free of charge for those who need it. See more

Brand new news! The IRS has released a method for filing an information only return. This is for those who DO NOT get social security payments, but who do not have a filing requirement normally, and who have not filed a tax return in 2018 or 2019. Our firm can now submit an information return that includes the filing status, address, SSNs, dependent info for any child under 17 on Dec 31, 2019, and your bank info for direct deposit. If you feel you qualify for this option (thi...s includes veterans who receive disability payments but not social security), give us a call and we will assist you in filing an information return to the IRS. This is for receipt of stimulus payments only! Adults are generally due to receive $1200 each, $2400 if married. Also, any child under 17 is due to add another $500 to the payment. Call us at 805-822-9179 or email us at [email protected] See more

The latest information I am seeing as of today coming through NAEA is that the IRS is expecting to have a method of providing direct deposit info directly to the IRS early next week. This will be for people who have not given their bank info to the IRS either because they owed on their taxes and did not allow for direct debit from their accounts, or because they normally like to receive checks but would now like to receive their stimulus payments faster via direct deposit. It... is also going to be needed for those who might have a new bank account that has not yet been provided to the IRS. Those drawing social security will already have their info provided to the IRS if they have not filed a return. They do not need to do anything as long as Social Security has the correct info. They have not provided any info that I can find yet on those who have not filed due to situations such as no taxable income (VA disabled vets, etc), but who also do not receive social security. Nothing has been said about pulling account info from the VA. If you are in this situation, it is probably best to also watch for the link to be provided on www.irs.gov and give them your account info. Please remember that there are a lot of scams starting up, there are phone calls, letters, emails, even texts circulating that are saying to provide your banking info through that source. These are scams, do not respond to them! You will not be contacted by the IRS through any of these sources. Once the payments are issued, they will send you a letter letting you know they issued you a payment, and how they issued it, but that is all you will get from the IRS (except the payment).

The latest news released today for social security recipients: The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service today announced that Social Security beneficiaries who are not typically required to file tax returns will not need to file an abbreviated tax return to receive an Economic Impact Payment. Instead, payments will be automatically deposited into their bank accounts. Social Security recipients who are not typically required to file a tax return do... not to need take an action, and will receive their payment directly to their bank account, said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. The IRS will use the information on the Form SSA-1099 and Form RRB-1099 to generate $1,200 Economic Impact Payments to Social Security recipients who did not file tax returns in 2018 or 2019. Recipients will receive these payments as a direct deposit or by paper check, just as they would normally receive their benefits.

Here is the latest news info from the IRS. Remember this is only their initial info, there are still a lot of unanswered questions, but hopefully this will help some with their questions: WASHINGTON The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service today announced that distribution of economic impact payments will begin in the next three weeks and will be distributed automatically, with no action required for most people. However, some seniors and others who typicall...Continue reading

There are a lot of rumors and unconfirmed info floating around regarding the stimulus payments. When we have official word through the IRS we will try to post it here. We want everyone to be cautious of scams though: Be alert for phone scams. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury Department, or any other government agency will not contact you by phone to collect information for stimulus payment processing. Period. Be alert for phishing scams. Government agencies will n...ot email or text you to collect information for stimulus payment processing. Watch for suspicious emails or texts with links or attachments requesting information for processing stimulus deposits or checks. If you receive one, do not click the link or open the attachment. It’s a scam. Delete it. Be alert for state-related scams. State agencies will also not call, email or text you to collect information or a fee to process a stimulus payment. To date, no state has introduced their own version of a stimulus payment. As of now, we are only aware of one communication a taxpayer will receive from the IRS. No later than 15 days after distributing a stimulus payment, the IRS is required to mail a notice to the taxpayer indicating the payment amount, whether the payment was mailed or deposited, and a phone number to call if the taxpayer did not receive the payment. Victims or targets of stimulus payment scams should report it immediately to the Federal Trade Commission, www.ftc.gov/complaint.

The IRS just announced today that the tax filing season has been moved to July 15th. That means that everyone has more time to file. Because of this, and the requirement to close all non-essential offices, we have made the decision to close our office to in office appointments. We are still working and will do everything we can to get everyone their refunds as quickly as possible, but for now we are going to have to switch to drop off only, or working via use of our secure online portal. If you would like to be set up to use our online portal, let us know and we will set you up!