Another stimulus question

[AndreaDM]

So for the past 2, dependents who were 17 years or older were not included in the payments. My daughter turned 17 in Jan 2020 so still 16 on my 2019 taxes and I did receive the full amount for her. Now, as I was thinking of doing my 2020 taxes this weekend, I thought hmmm, maybe I should hold off because won't the next one (if it indeed does happen), be based off the latest tax info the IRS has? Maybe holding off on filing wouldn't be a bad idea. Or who knows, maybe they have something in place that catches those who turned 17 last year. Anyway, just rambling thoughts on a cold day.

 

[kdonnel]

You should probably wait.

Odds are the next payment will be based on your last filed taxes.

Unless your 2019 income limited the phase out and your 2020 income is less enough that you think it would not and that the difference there is more then the difference you would get for the extra dependent. Not sure if the math would ever work out that way.

If I were you I would wait.

I am going to wait on my taxes because my 2020 income would phase me completely out while my 2019 income qualified me for partial payments.

 

[AndreaDM]

My 2019 and 2020 AGI is within a few hundred dollars, so that won't change, only the age of my dependent. Who as a senior in high school is obviously still quite dependent on me!

 

[mrodgers]

Just file taxes legitimately and stop trying to get free money. It should be you get the stimulus based on your taxes for the year but if you haven't filed it goes by previous taxes. Then when filing later, you pay it back if you should not have gotten said stimulus.

This "free" money for everyone is getting way out of hand.

 

[AndreaDM]

Ha! I was waiting for someone to say that! Waiting until April 15 is filing my taxes legitimately no? I'm not "trying to get free money", but if it's handed out I'm certainly not going to turn it down, because if my government can send billions overseas I'm not going to deny them giving me a couple hundred bucks to help stimulate the local economy!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Just file taxes legitimately and stop trying to get free money. It should be you get the stimulus based on your taxes for the year but if you haven't filed it goes by previous taxes. Then when filing later, you pay it back if you should not have gotten said stimulus.

This "free" money for everyone is getting way out of hand.

Eh you can always look at it differently. For the prior stimulus they were based on 2019 or 2018 if you hadn't filed in yet in 2020. It's now Feb 2021..people's situations can change between that time period.

 

[Heather07438]

For the first stimulus the child needed to still be 16 on Dec 31, 2019. My son missed it by 6 months. That cutoff makes me think they’ll need to still be 16 on Dec 31, 2020 for this one but I don’t know for sure.

 

[Heigh-Ho]

because if my government can send billions overseas

Well I wouldn't consider that reason for doing what the other person mentioned. It shouldn't really be a political stick it to 'em thing. If we want people to embrace stimulus, which is hard enough with people griping about increase to the taxpayers, let's try to keep out some reason that isn't related to the stimulus

 

[AndreaDM]

Where did I say I was trying to "stick it to 'em"? I merely stated that if the funds were there to help out everyone else in the world, then why on earth would I turn it down? Not by doing anything illegal at all.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Where did I say I was trying to "stick it to 'em"? I merely stated that if the funds were there to help out everyone else in the world, then why on earth would I turn it down? Not by doing anything illegal at all.

I really don't know but I'm guessing your comment could be construed as a political jab at foreign aid. That's just a guess as to what that other person was meaning.

 

[AndreaDM]

Nah, I just meant that a few hundred bucks for my dependent was a tiny drop in a huge bucket of aid. And if holding off filing for a few months entitled my DD to that amount then why not?

I think we can all agree that 17 year olds should have fallen into the category to begin with (as well as most college age students), but that's already been discussed here ad nauseum.

 

[sam_gordon]

I'm waiting to file because I owe (actually quite a bit). If it happens that by waiting we get stimulus money for my son (turned 17 in 2020), so be it.

 

[cobright]

Maybe holding off on filing wouldn't be a bad idea. Or who knows, maybe they have something in place that catches those who turned 17 last year. Anyway, just rambling thoughts on a cold day.

There is absolutely no downside to waiting to file. All of these 'rules' and 'cut off dates' and such are a clumsy sort of 'best practice' written up to extend some sort of order on a remedy that must be enacted quickly to be effective.

This "free" money for everyone is getting way out of hand.

It's not free money it's public spending. Just like if a community needed a bridge put in, nobody shames you for going after those 'free bridges'.

The reality is, these stimulus packages are written loosely because the goal is to get as much cash out into the hands of people who will spend it as possible. The goal is not to directly replace the income of those put out of work by the pandemic but to mitigate the lowered spending in aggregate of the entire country.

Claiming and spending your stimulus check is one of the best things an average person can do to help the economy of this country as a whole.

 

[AndreaDM]

I've read all kinds of articles about either filing asap OR waiting to file depending on whether your income decreased in 2020 to make you eligible. I just hadn't see anything regarding dependent status but I thought, why not?

 

[kdonnel]

It's no different than the advice to have our college aged kids claim themselves in 2020.

I get $500 for my college aged kid on my 2020 taxes. If instead my kid files and claims themself in 2020 they will get the $1800 previously paid out plus the additional $1400 that should be on its way.

Just using the tax laws as they were written.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It's no different than the advice to have our college aged kids claim themselves in 2020.

I get $500 for my college aged kid on my 2020 taxes. If instead my kid files and claims themself in 2020 they will get the $1800 previously paid out plus the additional $1400 that should be on its way.

Just using the tax laws as they were written.

Your college kids should only be claiming themselves if they actually meet the definition to do so, conversely you should be claiming your kids if they qualify. If your kid can be claimed as a dependent even if they aren't it can bar them.

You're not using the tax laws as they were written if you are deliberately having someone claim themselves when they actually meet the definition of a dependent for someone else. The tax law doesn't require you to claim them (and there are reasons why you wouldn't do so), it does however strictly define who is considered a dependent regardless.

 

[kdonnel]

Your college kids should only be claiming themselves if they actually meet the definition to do so, conversely you should be claiming your kids if they qualify. If your kid can be claimed as a dependent even if they aren't it can bar them.

You're not using the tax laws as they were written if you are deliberately having someone claim themselves when they actually meet the definition of a dependent for someone else. The tax law doesn't require you to claim them, it does however strictly define who is considered a dependent regardless.

I wasn't suggesting not claiming anyone that should be claimed. But for college kids that have earned income that meets 50% of their support they can certainly claim themselves on their taxes. I imagine there are many who legally could be claimed by either the parent or themselves and it is the taxpayers responsibility to use the law to their advantage.

Lots of tax sites have advocated this for years in relation to the various college tax credits. It is reasonable and legal to claim a child one year, not the next, and then again to maximise the American Opportunity tax credit and/or the Lifetime learning credit.

https://hawkinsashcpas.com/why-you-might-want-to-not-claim-your-child-as-a-dependent/

 

[clutter]

I believe that the most recent (and maybe prior) payments were sent out based on 2019, but will be reconciled to 2020.

My dd, was a dependent in 2019, so she got 0. But when she files 2020, she may be eligible to receive the stimulus because she was no longer a dependent. It would reduce her 2020 taxes. I believe. Now, will the opposite take effect? That if you receive money based on 2019, but end up not being eligible based on 2020, will you have to pay it back? I'm not sure. I'm not sure anyone knows the answer to that. I haven't researched it yet.

Remember the stimulus payments of a few years ago? They were also sent out as estimates based on one year's taxes, but adjusted on the next year return.

 

[Orion Nebula]

There is absolutely no downside to waiting to file. All of these 'rules' and 'cut off dates' and such are a clumsy sort of 'best practice' written up to extend some sort of order on a remedy that must be enacted quickly to be effective.


It's not free money it's public spending. Just like if a community needed a bridge put in, nobody shames you for going after those 'free bridges'.

The reality is, these stimulus packages are written loosely because the goal is to get as much cash out into the hands of people who will spend it as possible. The goal is not to directly replace the income of those put out of work by the pandemic but to mitigate the lowered spending in aggregate of the entire country.

Claiming and spending your stimulus check is one of the best things an average person can do to help the economy of this country as a whole.

Ya I was trying to figure out what the person meant by "free money"... it's like they didn't know where that money came from to begin with.

 

[kdonnel]

Now, will the opposite take effect? That if you receive money based on 2019, but end up not being eligible based on 2020, will you have to pay it back?

No. You will not have to pay anything back if you received a payment that your 2020 tax situation would have disqualified you from receiving.