​NATP Requests Clarification Regarding Stimulus Payments for Seniors

NATP has submitted a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee, the Treasury Department and the IRS, requesting clarification to the process for many seniors and others who don’t file a tax return to receive their stimulus checks. Since the passage of the CARES Act, there has been conflicting information communicated.

The CARES Act clearly states that senior taxpayers without a filing requirement would automatically receive their stimulus payment without the need to file a return. Their payment will be based on Form 1099-SSA and 1099-RRB. 

(B) if the individual has not filed a tax return for such individual’s first taxable year beginning in 2018, use information with respect to such individual for calendar year 2019 provided in—

(i) Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement, or
(ii) Form RRB-1099, Social Security Equivalent Benefit Statement.

​IR-2020-61 states that taxpayers who typically do not need to file will need to file a simple tax return. Recently the IRS FAQ noted the following:

People who typically do not file a tax return will need to file a simple tax return to receive an economic impact payment. Low-income taxpayers, senior citizens, Social Security recipients, some veterans and individuals with disabilities who are otherwise not required to file a tax return will not owe tax.

This information appears contradictory and is causing a lot of confusion. Some questions this contradiction raises include:

• What is a simple tax return?
• When will it be available?
• How can it be filed?
• Can seniors still rely on the use of their Forms 1099-SSA and 1099-RRB to get a payment, and if so, how will this delay the payment? Or will they too need to file this "simple return?"

​If the point of the legislation was to get the payments into the hands of as many people as possible, in the timeliest manner, this approach does not appear to support that.