08 Jun I got my stimulus payment. My wife did not. Why?

Q. My wife and I file our taxes together. I received $1,200 but my wife didn’t get hers. Why?
— Husband

A. It’s a great question and one many families have been asking.

Not everyone has received their stimulus payment yet, and others received amounts different from what they were expecting.

The specifics of your case could reveal the answer.

Married couples who file taxes jointly would get a $2,400 payment if they earn up to $150,000 a year. Those who earn between $150,000 and up to $198,000 get a partial benefit.

Given that you received the entire amount for a single person, we’re going to assume you as a couple would be eligible for the whole benefit.

Next we need to ask what information the federal government had about you when it determined the amount of your benefit.

We’re going to guess it didn’t use your 2018 or 2019 tax return because if it did, it would have send an amount for you both.

If instead one or both of you receive Social Security or other benefits, the government could have viewed you as individuals rather than as a married unit.

So that could mean your wife’s benefit is still on the way. The IRS is sending out five million payments a week and will through September, so not everyone has received it yet.

If your wife is claimed on a dependent on someone else’s tax return, such as on the return of an adult child, she would not be eligible.

You should keep checking the IRS Get My Payment tool that says when it’s sending a benefit. That tool is updated once a day.

If in the end the payment doesn’t arrive, the IRS says you will still get it when you file your 2020 tax return.

“Keep the Notice 1444, Your Economic Impact Payment, you will receive regarding your Economic Stimulus Payment with your records. This notice will be mailed to each recipient’s last known address within a few weeks after the Payment is made,” the IRS said. “When you file your 2020 tax return next year, you can refer to Notice 1444 and claim additional credits on your 2020 tax return if you are eligible for them.”

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This story was originally published on June 8, 2020.

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