# U.S. Stimulus check



## crisvic (Jan 25, 2020)

Good afternoon....Could anybody give a hint as to what should be done if the following happens..
About 3 weeks ago I received that nice letter signed by Trump, announcing the stimulus check etc...Well almost a month late no check has arrived yet. The 8th of May was the date it was allegedly sent out. Is there any procedure to follow....I understood the check was to arrive first and the letter later....Any suggestions as to what to do...thanks so much


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## Moulard (Feb 3, 2017)

Is the "nice letter" a Notice 1444? 

If yes, the assuming you have a foreign address you have to wait 9 weeks from the date it was mailed.

After the 9 weeks has passed you may request a payment trace. 

The payment trace will generally take up to a further 6 weeks

If the check was not cashed they will issue a replacement check (or perhaps debit card).

If the check was cashed, then the BFS will send you a claim package -- you will need to follow the instructions.

Its all outlined in gory detail on Q56 on the IRS EIP FAQ

https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payment-information-center#issuedbutlost


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## crisvic (Jan 25, 2020)

*stimulus check*

thanks so very much..


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## Carmonli (Jul 1, 2014)

I'm in a similar situation - letters received (checks supposedly sent May 1) but no checks. Any idea if it is better to try calling the IRS (and staying on hold for who knows how long) or to send Form 3911?


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

IMHO, you are not entitled to the "Stimulus Check" They are intended only for those who are resident in the US for the purpose of spending locally to help boost the recovery in the US, not in other countries.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

baldilocks said:


> IMHO, you are not entitled to the "Stimulus Check" They are intended only for those who are resident in the US for the purpose of spending locally to help boost the recovery in the US, not in other countries.


That doesn't seem to be how they set up the program. They are paying out to everyone who filed a 2018 or 2019 return and to anyone who receives US Social Security with a standard US social security number (which includes any number of "foreigners" living overseas in their retirement). 

In point of fact, they don't seem to have been conceived of as a "stimulus" check at all - but rather a form of aid in the face of the pandemic and the hardship resulting from the shutdowns and all. They only seem to be referred to as "stimulus" checks due to their similarity to the stimulus checks that went out back during a previous recession which were intended to get people back in the States spending again.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

baldilocks said:


> IMHO, you are not entitled to the "Stimulus Check" They are intended only for those who are resident in the US for the purpose of spending locally to help boost the recovery in the US, not in other countries.


To be honest nobody really knows what they intended.

One certainly does not need to be a US resident to claim the benefit. "Accidental Americans" who've never set foot in the US only need a Social Security Number to request their cheque.

However, anyone who filed their tax return jointly with a spouse who lacks a Social Security Number - either living outside the US with a non-citizen spouse, or living in the US with an undocumented spouse - is not entitled to the money.

Go figure.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Nononymous said:


> To be honest nobody really knows what they intended.
> 
> One certainly does not need to be a US resident to claim the benefit. "Accidental Americans" who've never set foot in the US only need a Social Security Number to request their cheque.
> 
> ...


And if your accidentals just happened to have filed for 2018 (even as part of the streamlined thing) they just got a check in the mail without any need to have requested it. (Friend of mine I helped file her streamlined filings contacted me to ask why she had just gotten a check for $1200 with Donald Trump's name on it. The problem is how to cash it for accidentals with no US bank accounts.)


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Bevdeforges said:


> And if your accidentals just happened to have filed for 2018 (even as part of the streamlined thing) they just got a check in the mail without any need to have requested it. (Friend of mine I helped file her streamlined filings contacted me to ask why she had just gotten a check for $1200 with Donald Trump's name on it. The problem is how to cash it for accidentals with no US bank accounts.)


Also, clever if larcenous Accidentals with an SSN who haven't filed US tax returns in decades (if ever) have been known to set up a Transferwise account, submit the "non-filer" form, and receive their money electronically in a matter of weeks. 

Even funnier is that anyone who renounced US citizenship but filed a return in 2018 or 2019 will receive an unsolicited cheque, if they qualify. Which they are supposed to return, somehow. Same is apparently true of dead people.


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## Moulard (Feb 3, 2017)

baldilocks said:


> IMHO, you are not entitled to the "Stimulus Check" They are intended only for those who are resident in the US for the purpose of spending locally to help boost the recovery in the US, not in other countries.


If that was the intent then of HR.748 would have been written that way. But its not.



> ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘eligible individual’ means any individual other than—
> ‘‘(1) any nonresident alien individual,
> ‘‘(2) any individual with respect to whom a deduction under section 151 is allowable to another taxpayer for a taxable year beginning in the calendar year in which the individual’s taxable year begins, and
> ‘‘(3) an estate or trust.


If they intended it to be US residents only, they could have added an additional paragraph to exclude those outside the United States.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi,
The cynic in me suspects that Trump will make a point of reminding voters that they recently received a piece of valuable paper with his name on - when it is time for them to vote!
Cheers
Steve


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Stevesolar said:


> Hi,
> The cynic in me suspects that Trump will make a point of reminding voters that they recently received a piece of valuable paper with his name on - when it is time for them to vote!
> Cheers
> Steve


Oh, he has already done that. I received my money in the very first wave of direct deposits on April 15th. It was early June when I received a letter from the IRS, and with a reproduced signature of Bonespurs claiming how much he has done for me and all but begging me to remember this in November. Talk about using taxpayer money to campaign!


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

I'm hoping there's a second $1200 payment before the election, as this will fully subsidize the cost of renunciation, whenever consulates open again. All hail the great 2020 coronavirus renunciation sale!


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