If your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is less than $150,000, the American Rescue Plan enacted on March 11, 2021, excludes from income up to $10,200 of unemployment compensation paid in 2020, which means you don't have to pay tax on unemployment compensation of up to $10,200. If you are married, each spouse receiving unemployment compensation doesn't have to pay tax on unemployment compensation of up to $10,200. Amounts over $10,200 for each individual are still taxable. If your modified AGI is $150,000 or more, you can't exclude any unemployment compensation. If you file Form 1040-NR, you can't exclude any unemployment compensation for your spouse.
Unclaimed income tax refunds worth more than $1.5 billion await an estimated 1.4 million individual taxpayers who did not file a 2016 federal income tax return, according to the Internal Revenue Service. To collect refunds for tax year 2016, taxpayers must file their 2016 tax returns with the IRS no later than this year's extended tax due date of July 15, 2020. In cases where a federal income tax return was not filed, the law provides most taxpayers with a three-year window of opportunity to claim a tax refund. If they do not file a tax return within three years, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury.
The IRS Get My Payment information tool is now live on the IRS website. Taxpayers can use the Get My Payment site to check on the status of their Economic Impact Payment, confirm their payment type (direct deposit or mailed check), and add their direct deposit information if it has not already been provided to the IRS. Taxpayers will not be able to update their mailing address using the Get My Payment site as the IRS had previously announced. Economic Stimulus Payments will be mailed to the address filed on the 2019 tax return. If a 2019 return has not been filed, the IRS will mail the payment to the taxpayer's address as filed on their 2018 tax return.
All taxpayers should file electronically through their tax preparer, tax software provider or IRS Free File if possible. The IRS is not currently able to process individual paper tax returns. If you already have filed via paper but it has not yet been processed, do not file a second tax return or write to the IRS to inquire about the status of your return or your economic impact payment. Paper returns will be processed once processing centers are able to reopen. This year, more than 90% of taxpayers have filed electronically.
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced that the federal income tax filing due date is automatically extended from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020.