How to manage your personal finances during the pandemic
COVID-19 has ushered in a new normal—likely impacting your personal finances. These strategies can help you take control of your money during this time.
How the latest relief package impacts you
More financial help is on its way for many households and businesses dealing with the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 into law Dec. 27. The latest relief package includes a second round of direct cash payments to millions of Americans, expanded unemployment benefits, funding for small businesses and more.
The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have already started delivering the second round of economic impact payments to millions of Americans who received the first round of payments earlier this year, according to an IRS press release.
Some Dupaco Community Credit Union members will receive their direct deposit payment beginning Monday, Jan. 4.
Learn who will receive these payments and how to find out when your payment is coming:
- Who will receive stimulus payments?
- How do I find out if the IRS is sending me a payment?
- How do I prepare for my payment?
- How can I watch for an upcoming payment in my Dupaco account?
Who will receive stimulus payments?
The IRS said U.S. citizens and resident aliens who are not eligible to be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s income tax return are generally eligible for this second payment.
Eligible individuals will automatically receive up to $600 for individuals or $1,200 for married couples and up to $600 for each qualifying child.
If you have adjusted gross income for 2019 up to $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns and surviving spouses, you’ll generally receive the full stimulus payment, the IRS said. If your income is above those amounts, your payment amount will be reduced.
How do I find out if the IRS is sending me a payment?
You can check the status of both your first and second payments by using the IRS’ Get My Payment tool.
The tool will let you confirm:
- That the IRS sent your second stimulus payment.
- That the IRS sent your first payment. Some people received their first Economic Impact Payment in partial payments. If you received partial payments, the application will show only the most recent.
- Your payment type: Direct deposit or mail.
How do I prepare for my payment?
The IRS said you do NOT need to take any action to receive this second payment:
“As with the first round of payments under the CARES Act, most recipients will receive these payments by direct deposit. For Social Security and other beneficiaries who received the first round of payments via Direct Express, they will receive this second payment the same way.
“Anyone who received the first round of payments earlier this year but doesn’t receive a payment via direct deposit will generally receive a check or, in some instances, a debit card. For those in this category, the payments will conclude in January. If additional legislation is enacted to provide for an additional amount, the Economic Impact Payments that have been issued will be topped up as quickly as possible.”
The IRS said payments are automatic for:
- Eligible taxpayers who filed a 2019 tax return.
- Those who receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits and Supplemental Security Income.
- Veterans Affairs beneficiaries who didn’t file a tax return.
- Anyone who successfully registered for the first payment at IRS.gov using the agency’s Non-Filers tool by Nov. 21 or who submitted a simplified tax return that has been processed by the IRS.
How can I watch for an upcoming payment in my Dupaco account?
Curious whether your payment is hitting your Dupaco account?
From the menu in Shine, select Direct Deposits and then click on the Future tab to see whether you have a future payment from “IRS TREAS.” It will tell you when the payment will post to your account.
You can also use Shine’s tools to be alerted when your stimulus payment becomes available:
eNotifiers
From the Shine menu, select eNotifiers. Under Activity Alerts, enable All Transactions to receive email or text messages for all transactions to your account, including your stimulus deposit.
Quick Balance
Quick Balance is a special feature of Shine Mobile. Enable it once and you’ll have quick, view-only access to your account balances without having to log into the app each time. Get started by going to the Shine menu and tapping Edit Profile. From there you can enable the free tool.
Shine Text Banking
With Shine Text Banking, you can quickly get your balance and transaction history for your savings, checking and Visa accounts. Set up the feature on your profile page in Shine. Click Edit Profile. Scroll down to SMS banking, and fill out the fields. Respond to the activation text, and you’re all set!
