2020 U.S. ECONOMIC IMPACT PAYMENTS for Citizens Living Abroad

Thanks and apologize for the error....I will find the link and add it.

https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus-tax-rel … t-payments

Pizza Luca...an excellent choice.....

I received my payment today, direct deposited to the same bank in the United States where my Social Security is direct deposited.

Received my Stimulus money via bank direct deposit - thank you US Government. Donated 10% to charity.

stevenjb2020 wrote:

Received my Stimulus money via bank direct deposit - thank you US Government. Donated 10% to charity.

Oh...yeah...I forgot to say I gave all of mine to charity, beginning at home (as the proverb advises) 😉

I'm 18 and living abroad in Brazil. I don't have an income and therefore still don't file my taxes. Does anyone know if I am eligible?

_lppaiva wrote:

I'm 18 and living abroad in Brazil. I don't have an income and therefore still don't file my taxes. Does anyone know if I am eligible?

I don't suppose you've considered following the link to the government website to search for the answer?

I'm guessing you've done an exhaustive search on the subject and after not finding an answer on official websites you are coming here to get the real information you need from helpful Anonymous people?

What do your parents say?

Has anybody receiving SSA benefits payment via direct deposit to a bank in Vietnam get the economic impact payment yet?

Ciambella wrote:

It's correct that the payment is sent to the existing info in last tax form.  On IRS record, our residence is in VN, but the bank account whence we sent tax owed and where we received direct deposit of tax refund is in the US, so that's where we received the payments. 

Don't know when the checks were sent, but the fund was available in our account on April 14.  Had a pizza party (Luca delivered) for the whole family the next evening.

I must congratulate you, Ciambella. You are one of the few people who know how to use "whence" correctly.

You learned the English language better than the natives!

I have received my $1200 check. Does anyone know how/where it can be cashed in Vietnam?

hyagly256 wrote:

I must congratulate you, Ciambella. You are one of the few people who know how to use "whence" correctly.

You learned the English language better than the natives!

Thank you.

When I grew up here, all high school graduates were able to read, write, and speak 2 foreign languages.  It was mandatory (free of charge) that we took 7 years of the 1st language (7 hours/week) and 3 years of the 2nd one (5 hours/week).  The language teachers were Vietnamese who received their training in the UK and/or US.

English was my 2nd foreign language, then it became my only language for 35 years before and after our years in Italy.

There are strong indicators that those of us in Vietnam that are still waiting on the stimulus checks, that they were delivered to the US Consulate in SAIGON around the 21st of May, Friday afternoon. If this is true we should be notified shortly through the State Dept STEP system. I don't think, and this is just my thoughts that they won't require people to report to the Consulate to receive them because of the virus situation, rather they will mail them out as they have done on previous occasions, certified. I sent a msg late yesterday to the Consulate to confirm the information and in addition requested a one time exception to allow people to cash the checks at the cashier cage that they have located in the Consulate. I don't believe for a lot of reasons that  they will allow it though. Back in 2007 OPM mailed my wife a large adjustment to her retired pay and instead of doing a DD to our bank account they mailed up a paper treasury dept check. The Consulate said the the cashier cage was only for current State Dept employees and payments to contractor  to use. No VN banks back then nor now will accept them, they have no way of processing them. We ended up opening  a account with ANZ, deposited it and then they in-turn sent it the Chase Manhattan for processing, for a fee of course.

When I receive a reply from the Consulate I'll post the information, this is a weekend and Mondays a US Holiday, I don't expect any thing till Tuesday.

Those of you  are wondering why the "GET MY PAY" portal wouldn't allow in put on bank account information for a DD this the response from the IRS:

"If you filed your 2019 or 2018 tax return but did not receive your refund by direct deposit, your Payment will be mailed to the address we have on file even if you also receive Social Security, Railroad Retirement or Veterans Affairs benefits by direct deposit. This is generally the address on your most recent tax return or as updated through the United States Postal Service (USPS)."

Rick

Thanks Rick. Look forward to hearing more from you.
Roger

haldenby wrote:

Thanks Rick. Look forward to hearing more from you.
Roger

This is what the questions were:

"Message Text Stimulus checks. Is the US Treasury Dept sending the checks to the Consulate rather than to our home address here in Vietnam. If so, will the Consulate forward them to us? If you do receive them, would we on a one time basis be allowed to cash them at the cashier cage?"

This was their response this morning:

Dear Mr. ..........,

Thank you for your inquiry.

Questions about the CARES Act and the related economic impact payment for eligible U.S. citizens must be answered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  U.S. citizens are recommended to visit this website for information and updates:  https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus .

Please note that the IRS has released a statement urging taxpayers to be on the lookout for a surge of call and email phishing attempts about COVID-19 and the economic impact payment, which could result in tax-related fraud and identity theft.  The IRS reminds U.S. citizens that it will never ask by phone, email, text, or social media for verification of personal and/or banking information saying the information is needed to receive or speed up their economic impact payment.  U.S. citizens who receive unsolicited emails, text messages, or social media attempts to gather information that appear to be from the IRS or an organization closely linked to the IRS, such as the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), should not engage with the message and should forward it to phishing@irs.gov.  You may learn more about reporting suspected scams by going to the Report Phishing and Online Scams page on IRS.gov.

If you have further questions, please do not reply to this email.  Instead, please submit your inquiry to: https://vn.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-se … iry-form/.  Please also note that U.S. Mission Vietnam has a frequently-updated page about COVID-19 here: https://vn.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-se … ormation/.


Sincerely,

Information and Public Outreach Unit

Consular Section (ACS)

U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City – Vietnam

Website: https://vn.usembassy.gov/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USConsulateHCMC/

U.S. citizens can learn about and enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at: https://step.state.gov/step/

⁞
Rick

Budman1 wrote:

haldenby wrote:

Thanks Rick. Look forward to hearing more from you.
Roger

This is what the questions were:

"Message Text Stimulus checks. Is the US Treasury Dept sending the checks to the Consulate rather than to our home address here in Vietnam. If so, will the Consulate forward them to us? If you do receive them, would we on a one time basis be allowed to cash them at the cashier cage?"

This was their response this morning:

Dear Mr. ..........,

Thank you for your inquiry.

Questions about the CARES Act and the related economic impact payment for eligible U.S. citizens must be answered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)...

I wonder if they read the heading of your message and automatically sent you the canned response without reading your question?

paulmsn wrote:

The IRS was going to make those who don't file a return fill out a shortened form to get the money, but caved under pressure from almost everyone.  They are still requiring non-citizens to have SS numbers for every child or they won't get the money.  I'm not sure what the logic of that is or who made that a requirement.

I expect I will receive the money, but I really don't need it.  The inability to travel is saving me a lot of money.

if you dont need it I will gladly take it!

I just received the latest $600.00 USD stimulus payment direct deposited to the same bank where I receive my Social Security benefits.

Do you get your refunds direct-deposited? That was a key last time

def1412 wrote:

Do you get your refunds direct-deposited? That was a key last time

I don't have any tax liability with my two income sources.

As I wrote above, my social security benefits are direct deposited.

That's all I know

I also received my stimulus payment, on 31 December, but it's pending and won't show up in my account until Monday because of New Year's Day holiday and the weekend.  Yes, direct deposit.

This is what the IRS told me last time about DD:

"If you filed your 2019 or 2018 tax return but did not receive your refund by direct deposit, your Payment will be mailed to the address we have on file even if you also receive Social Security, Railroad Retirement or Veterans Affairs benefits by direct deposit. This is generally the address on your most recent tax return or as updated through the United States Postal Service (USPS)."

Rick

Thanks for your reply.  My question arose from past experience.  My SS is direct deposited.  My stimulus was via mail as my tax refunds are via mail.  Which was the procedure last time around.  I was wondering if things were the same.  Budman made a good point.  Probably the same as last time...Happy New Year and thanks for your response.

def1412 wrote:

My stimulus was via mail as my tax refunds are via mail.  Which was the procedure last time around.  I was wondering if things were the same.  Budman made a good point.  Probably the same as last time...

It is looking like the IRS is looking to increase the percentage of direct deposits, as evidenced by OB's status of not having a refund but receiving SS checks and getting the new payment by direct deposit in the same account.  Direct deposits save the government a lot of money compared to checks so it is logical that they would try to maximize their use and minimize the number of checks.  If you still don't get a deposit or a check, the IRS now has a way to reclaim missing payments through use of a form attached to your 2020 tax filing.  Changes to Stimulus payments
IRS page: IRS rebate credit page

I wish that was what will happen, and yes it make more sense to do DD, but it looks like the IRS is going to send out paper checks to those that got them last time again. What a hassle  with the last ones for my wife and I.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/treasury-a … -americans

Rick

THIGV wrote:

It is looking like the IRS is looking to increase the percentage of direct deposits, as evidenced by OB's status of not having a refund but receiving SS checks and getting the new payment by direct deposit in the same account.

It's possible there was another reason for direct depositing my payment:

(From April 17, 2020: Forbes)

“Since many VA recipients typically aren’t required to file tax returns, the IRS had to work with these other government agencies to determine a way to quickly and accurately deliver Economic Impact Payments to this group,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.

I received both Social Security retirement and V.A. Disability Compensation payments.

Cha-ching! Got my $600 direct deposit 

I am one of those who filed jointly, having foreign spouse with ITIN, who was denied the stimulus in April because of some cockup.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimwang/20 … cc38265f32

Thanks Senators Rubio and Tillis. 
Hoping the June $1200 check is on backorder. 

gobot wrote:

Hoping the June $1200 check is on backorder. 

It won't be automatic.  You will need to claim it when you file your 2020 taxes. IRS Recovery Rebate Credit  The payment was technically not a government expenditure but an advance on a tax credit.  If you did not get a check or direct deposit you can file for the credit with your taxes.  Of course you will need to file, even if you had no taxable income.

did you receive the second stimulus check for $600? thanks!

gulshan555 wrote:

did you receive the second stimulus check for $600? thanks!

Yes

(quoted from a Social Security email update)

It’s not too late!

Get all the benefits you’re entitled to under the law.

A new non-filer sign-up tool is available if you do not usually file a tax return to claim the Child Tax Credit (CTC), and missing Economic Impact Payments, known as stimulus payments.

ssa.gov/coronavirus/eip/