Due to the economic impact COVID-19 is creating on working Americans and their families, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) was passed and signed into law by the president late last week. Included in the legislation are 2020 recovery rebates for individuals.
According to the Senate Committee on Finance summary:
All U.S. residents with adjusted gross income up to $75,000 ($150,000 married), who are not a dependent of another taxpayer and have a work eligible Social Security number are eligible for the full $1,200 ($2,400 married) rebate. In addition, they are eligible for an additional $500 per child. This is true even for those who have no income, as well as those whose income comes entirely from non-taxable, means-tested benefit programs, such as SSI benefits.
For the majority of Americans, no action on their part will be required to receive a rebate check as the IRS will use a taxpayer’s 2019 tax return if filed, or alternatively, their 2018 return. This includes many low-income individuals who file a tax return in order to take advantage of the refundable earned income tax credit and child tax credit. The rebate amount is reduced by $5 for each $100 that a taxpayer’s income exceeds the phaseout threshold. The amount is completely phased out for single filers with incomes exceeding $99,000, $146,500 for head of household filers with one child, and $198,000 for joint filers with no children.
Additional relief provided in the act includes:
- Special rules for use of retirement funds (waives the 10% early withdrawal penalty for distributions up to $100,000)
- Temporary waiver of required minimum distribution rules
- Allowance of partial above-the-line deduction for up to $300 of charitable contributions in 2020
- Modification of limitations on charitable contributions during 2020
- Employee retention credit for employers subject to closure due to COVID-19
- Delay of payment of employer payroll taxes
- Modifications for net operating losses
- Modification of limitation on losses for taxpayers other than corporations
- Modification of credit for prior year minimum tax liability of corporations
The Senate Committee on Finance released a section-by-section summary for each of these provisions.
For more information and resources about COVID-19 and its far-reaching impacts, visit our new COVID-19 information page.
We also have a free on-demand webinar that covers information on the stimulus checks and other recent relief efforts.
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Information included in this article is accurate as of the publish date. This post is not reflective of tax law changes or IRS guidance that may have occurred after the date of publishing.