Family Law

If You Owe Back Support, Don?t Expect Your Stimulus Check

By Robert L. Mues

The IRS is treating the stimulus checks as if they were tax refunds. On their website, the IRS indicates that the amount of the stimulus check will be reduced or seized if :

• You are single and your net income tax liability is less than $600. If you file Form 1040 net income tax liability is the amount shown on Line 57, plus the amount on Line 52.
• You are married and your net income tax liability is less than $1,200.
• You are single and your adjusted gross income (AGI) is more than $75,000. On Form 1040, AGI is the amount on Line 37.
• You are married filing a joint return and your AGI is more than $150,000.
• You owe back taxes that reduced your payment.
• You have non-tax federal debts such as unpaid student loans or child-support obligations that reduced your payment.

If the IRS is reducing or seizing your stimulus check, they are supposed to mail you a letter of explanation.

So what do you do if you and your spouse have filed a joint return and your spouse owes back child support if you want to avoid having the IRS seize your share? Well, you may fall in the category of what the IRS calls an ?injured spouse?. To get your share of the stimulus payment, you can file Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation. You will then get your share of these payments, and your spouse?s share will be applied to his or her past-due federal or state income taxes or non-tax federal debt such as student loans and child support.

If you are wondering where your stimulus check is, you can initiate an inquiry to the IRS by clicking here.

Also, remember that the IRS NEVER initiates any email to taxpayers, so don?t fall for one of those internet scams about receipt of your stimulus check!

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Full post as published by Ohio Family Law Blog on June 02, 2008 (boomark / email).