US Citizens Married to Thai Nationals: No Stimulus Check for You

[CALSinCM]

It seems that if you're married to a Thai national (non-resident alien) and filed your taxes jointly, then you will not be getting a 'stimulus check.' 

"You can access Get My Payment using an ITIN, but in most cases, the law does not allow an Economic Impact Payment (EIP) for individuals who file a return using an ITIN."

 

Read 'em and weep. 

Edited April 16, 2020 by CALSinCM

[ubonjoe]

55 minutes ago, CALSinCM said:

You can access Get My Payment using an ITIN, but in most cases, the law does not allow an Economic Impact Payment (EIP) for individuals who file a return using an ITIN."

That means you will get $1200 dollars but not for your wife.

She would have to be a resident of the US or a citizen to receive it which means she would have a social security number.

 

Note: Some rude and  inflammatory posts have been removed.

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by ubonjoe

[TerryLH]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

She would have to be resident of the US or a citizen to get it.

Or have a SS number.

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, TerryLH said:

Or have a SS number.

I edited my post to make it clearer while you were posting.

[Puchaiyank]

 

If it is any consolation. Illegal immigrants living in the US are also ineligible at this time...

[TerryLH]

Many Thai's who used to live/work in the US have SS numbers, but are not residents or citizens.

[Jingthing]

Got to draw the line somewhere.

Personally I was surprised that expats and social security people were eligible. 

Expats for obvious reasons but my feeling was the social security people are still getting the same income (though usually low) so what's the logic of replacing something that isn't gone?

Also I think there should be much more for lower income people and much less for higher income people. Yes I know there is a gradual cut off but it still seems really shabby for poorer people.

Bottom line -- it seems the purpose is largely to stimulate spending and not as much as replacing lost income although it does both to a certain degree in a very rough way.

Of course there is obviously no time for any kind of means testing. 

[gk10002000]

On 4/16/2020 at 10:14 AM, Puchaiyank said:

 

If it is any consolation. Illegal immigrants living in the US are also ineligible at this time...

  California apparently is giving out $500 bucks to illegal immigrants.  Not entirely sure where that money is coming from though.  So again, being a documented illegal immigrant in the USA...

[gamb00ler]

42 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

  California apparently is giving out $500 bucks to illegal immigrants.  Not entirely sure where that money is coming from though.  So again, being a documented illegal immigrant in the USA...

I think CNN reported the funding as a government/charity collaboration.  I don't recall the exact numbers but remember it was about 60% from government.

[cmarshall]

On 4/16/2020 at 10:16 AM, Jingthing said:

Got to draw the line somewhere.

Personally I was surprised that expats and social security people were eligible. 

Expats for obvious reasons but my feeling was the social security people are still getting the same income (though usually low) so what's the logic of replacing something that isn't gone?

Also I think there should be much more for lower income people and much less for higher income people. Yes I know there is a gradual cut off but it still seems really shabby for poorer people.

Bottom line -- it seems the purpose is largely to stimulate spending and not as much as replacing lost income although it does both to a certain degree in a very rough way.

Of course there is obviously no time for any kind of means testing. 

Some of us have taken a significant hit on our investment income due to the health crisis.  Is there some reason why our losses should not be partially and temporarily compensated?  If you recall the three-stool theory of retirement, SS was never designed to be an adequate national pension system and it isn't.  The other two legs are buckling right now.

 

 As I have pointed out in other posts, the payments can only be understood as disaster relief, not stimulus, since we can't stimulate the economy while the govt has shut it down.

[Pib]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gumballl]

On 4/16/2020 at 10:03 AM, ubonjoe said:

That means you will get $1200 dollars but not for your wife.

She would have to be a resident of the US or a citizen to receive it which means she would have a social security number.

 

Note: Some rude and  inflammatory posts have been removed.

 

There are plenty of news article that indicates that families will receive nada, zilch, $0... if one member uses an ITIN.

 

Here's a sample article:  https://citylimits.org/2020/04/03/opinion-the-cruelties-of-the-covid-19-stimulus-bill/

 

Maybe I am interpreting the regulations incorrectly.

[Berkshire]

On 4/16/2020 at 9:03 PM, ubonjoe said:

That means you will get $1200 dollars but not for your wife.

She would have to be a resident of the US or a citizen to receive it which means she would have a social security number.

 

Actually, no.  If your wife is a non-citizen and you file jointly, neither of you gets a stimulus check.  This is why some US citizens have filed a lawsuit against the gov...

 

[The lawsuit claims that a provision of the act — added by the Trump administration — bars US citizens from receiving any stimulus money if they filed joint tax returns with their spouse who is an unauthorized immigrant.]

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-administration-mitch-mcconnell-hit-142609030.html?.tsrc=jtc_news_index

[gamb00ler]

Everyone should keep in mind the true nature of these payments.  The CARES Act created a fully REFUNDABLE tax credit of $1200 per adult and an extra $500 per child in a family.  These tax credits actually will apply to your taxes for 2020 which will be filed in early 2021.  To expedite the disbursement of these funds, the gov't is sending out payments which are an ADVANCE on that tax credit.  The gov't will look at your tax filings for 2018 and/or 2019 to make an ESTIMATE of the amount that each taxpayer will receive as a benefit (for 2020 taxes) according to the income limit and other rules included in the CARES Act.  This estimate will be the amount that they will send to you now/soon.

 

Some expats will be able to adjust their income or change how they file their taxes for 2020 to best take advantage of this tax credit.  For instance retired taxpayers that are making yearly 401K/IRA withdrawals, it may behoove them to take a smaller payout(for 2020) to keep their income below the payment cutoff point.  I'm not sure but perhaps some taxpayers will benefit by filing married but separately to avoid the problem of a joint filer with an ITIN.

 

If you don't currently meet the requirements for this advance payment good financial/tax planning may qualify you when you file taxes for 2020.  Better late than never.  Plan now for an optimum result.