The $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or Cares Act, provides a $1,200 refundable tax credit for qualified individuals and $2,400 for qualified joint filers. There is an additional payment of $500 for every dependent child under 17.
In an effort to quickly disburse the stimulus money, the IRS used people’s tax returns from 2018 or 2019. If you got a refund in those years, you were among the first to receive money.
Nearly 90 million Americans received their $1,200 payments, including people who received payments meant for deceased parents and siblings........and Elizabeth.
“I was totally shocked,” Elizabeth said in telephone interview from her London home. “I never for a minute thought it was a possibility that I would get this money. I’m a rich foreigner getting American money. I don’t deserve this money. There are so many people in America who need it. I appreciate that the IRS had to get the money out fast so they couldn’t do thorough checks. But it just feels so wrong to have it in my account.”
Elizabeth worked for several years in New York under an E-2 investor visa as a communications consultant. She had a Social Security number and paid taxes, as required under the conditions of her visa. In 2018, she earned $13,000 over a few months before returning to Britain. Had she worked for the rest of the year, her annual income would have put her beyond the $99,000 individual cap for a stimulus payment.
Under the Cares Act, U.S. citizens, permanent residents and qualifying resident aliens, including those on the E-2 visas who meet the IRS’s “substantial presence test” for the calendar year, are eligible for stimulus payments if their adjusted gross income falls under certain limits.
Individuals with annual adjusted gross incomes (AGI) of $75,000 or less are eligible for the full $1,200 check. Married couples are eligible for $2,400 as long as their AGI income is under $150,000 a year.
If you’re single and your AGI is more than $99,000, you do not qualify for a stimulus payment. If you earn more than $136,500 and file as head of household, you do not qualify for a payment. For married people filing jointly, the cutoff for any payment is an AGI above $198,000.
Based on the length of time she was in the U.S. during 2018, on the advice of her tax professional Elizabeth filed a 1040 federal return and received a $300 refund, which was deposited into a U.S. bank account that she has kept open.
If you’re single and your AGI is more than $99,000, you do not qualify for a stimulus payment. If you earn more than $136,500 and file as head of household, you do not qualify for a payment. For married people filing jointly, the cutoff for any payment is an AGI above $198,000.
Based on the length of time she was in the U.S. during 2018, on the advice of her tax professional Elizabeth filed a 1040 federal return and received a $300 refund, which was deposited into a U.S. bank account that she has kept open.
The E-2 nonimmigrant visa allows foreign nationals of certain countries such as Britain to be admitted to the United States when investing substantial capital in a U.S. business, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Elizabeth received her visa under this program.
Unable to reach anyone at the IRS to figure out how to return the $1,200, Elizabeth sent me an email. “I cannot possibly be the only nonresident getting this payment,” she said.
The IRS and Treasury did not comment on how many individuals who are no longer living in the United States may have received stimulus money.
As with much of the broader stimulus effort, the urgency to get funds to 150 million Americans has resulted in payment mishaps and technological glitches.
