On April 1, 2020, the Department of Treasury and the IRS 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 a stimulus payment. Instead, the IRS will use the information of the Form SSA-1099 and Form RRB-1099 to generate stimulus 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, in whatever way they normally receive their benefits.

Other Americans, who are not Social Security recipients, but whom are not normally required to file an income tax return, may still be required to file an abbreviated return to receive the stimulus payments.

Please note that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS has closed all of their Taxpayer Assistance Centers and discontinued face-to-face service throughout the country until further notice. Regarding the stimulus payments, the IRS website specifically advises, “Do not call.” To obtain information, visit www.IRS.gov.

See the previous update about stimulus payments here.