IRS Economic Stimulus Payments

While this is not a classic compliance issue, I understand that people often task compliance officers with difficult queries.  In other words, if they don't know the answer, they ask you.

In that vein, here's some intel regarding IRS Economic Stimulus payments.  The IRS indicated that that it will deliver economic stimulus payments to taxpayers via direct deposit if the taxpayer selected direct deposit to receive their tax refund.  If the taxpayer received their tax refund via paper check, then they'll get the economic stimulus payment via check. 

The IRS also indicates when the deposits will hit accounts.  It states that:

Taxpayers who choose direct deposit on their federal income tax returns can expect to receive their economic stimulus payments between May 2 and May 16 provided their returns were received and processed by April 15, 2008. For taxpayers who did not choose direct deposit on their tax return but whose returns were processed by April 15, the paper checks will be in the mail starting May 16, with the initial mailings completed by around July 11.

I'd give your front-line staff a head's up.  I'm sure they'll get a bunch of questions that will come in two flavors.

Flavor 1.  Did my economic stimulus payment hit yet?
Flavor 2.  I see a $600 deposit in my savings account.  (Pause.)  Can I keep it?

Important thought: not everyone will get a stimulus package payment.  The IRS provides this calculator to taxpayers, which allows the taxpayer to see if they are getting one.   

You can access the IRS announcement regarding economic stimulus payments here.  It provides some good information - such as the exact date taxpayers can expect a payment (assuming they get one), based on the last two digits of their social security number.  I've cut and pasted the chart below.  (I cringe as I write this, because I really don't know how the chart will look when this post is "posted" to the blog.  There's a good chance that you'll see gobble-gook below.  If not, disregard this sentence of paranoia.) 

Stimulus Payment Schedule for Tax Returns
Received and Processed by April 15

Direct Deposit Payments
If the last two digits of your Social Security number are:	Your economic stimulus payment deposit should be sent to your bank account by:
00 – 20	May 2
21 – 75	May 9
76 – 99	May 16
Paper Check
If the last two digits of your Social Security number are:	Your check should be in the mail by:
00 – 09	May 16
10 – 18	May 23
19 – 25	May 30
26 – 38	June 6
39 – 51	June 13
52 – 63	June 20
64 – 75	June 27
76 – 87	July 4
88 – 99	July 11

Here's a thought: this might be good information to share with your members.  You could place it on your homebanking log-in page, or on your website.  It could cut down on some calls and emails.

Comments

[Jeff Hardin]

Anthony -

Thanks for posting this - a friend asked me at dinner last night when he might expect his check to hit! I'll forward over this post to him right now!

Jeff

[Lisa Hochgraf]

Anthony
I continue to be impressed with your clear writing about compliance issues. This post is no exception! Great info!

CUES Nexus Connection recently had a related post, looking at the question of whether credit unions are "poised to help their members save or spend that money ... with their credit union?"
http://www.cues.org/nexusconnection/

[Carolyn]

Out return was filed timely, but not accepted by IRS until after. Will those economic stimulus package checks go out after everyone whose return was accepted by April 15?

[The Compliance Guy]

Hi Lisa. IRS documents seem to indicate that the May 16 internal deadline applied to mailings that were filed and processed. If the IRS did not accept your filing (coudl be for a number of reasons), I would expect that your refund would be out later. At what point, however, is unclear.