Economic impact payments (EIP) are now reaching 127 million individuals. This is the third EIP that was just authorized (March 11) by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. There are some changes from the first two EIPs.

To receive a full ($1,400) or partial EIP, you cannot make more than $80,000 adjusted gross income (AGI) -- $160,000 if married filing jointly. The first and second EIPs were less strict (EIP1: $99,000 individual/$198,000 married filing jointly; EIP2: $87,000 individual/$174,000 married filing jointly, with both EIPs having possible adjustments to the amounts based on qualifying children).

Your third economic impact payment (EIP3) may arrive by direct deposit to your bank account or by mail. I heard from a reader who checked her bank account on March 24 to find a $1,400 deposit. She then checked the IRS tool “Get My Payment” at tinyurl.com/um7wjjk9, which confirmed the deposit. The tool does not report EIP1 and EIP2 payments.

If the IRS is mailing your EIP3 to you, you may get a check or a prepaid debit card (Economic Impact Payment Card, or EIP Card).

According to the IRS, paper checks will arrive in a white envelope from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The check will look similar to a tax refund that arrives by mail, but this version will have “Economic Impact Payment” in the memo field.

Checks are easily identified as EIPs. Not so with the EIP Card. The EIP Card will arrive by mail in a white envelope that has a U.S. Department of the Treasury seal. The EIP Card inside will be a Visa debit card with the name MetaBank (the issuing bank) on the back. If you want to see what the check and the card look like, go to tinyurl.com/wprpvx53.

Before you can use the card, you’ll need to activate it. You’ll find instructions in the envelope. After you activate the card, you can check your balance online, by phone (800-240-8100) or through a mobile app (the Money Network Mobile App, found at the App Store or on Google Play). For more information, see EIPcard.com.

If, by chance, you did not receive the first two EIPs, or got less than the full amount, all is not lost. There is a procedure to apply for EIP1 and EIP2 through the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit (tinyurl.com/wv6euhbj). You will need to know how much you received for EIP1 (see IRS Notice 1444, which was already mailed to you by the IRS) and EIP2 (IRS Notice 1444-B, which you should receive in the mail shortly). You will need this information when you file a 2020 tax return to claim the credit. You can also create an online IRS account to look up EIP1 and EIP2. See tinyurl.com/z88tmkar. It’s worth the effort.

You do not have to take action to receive EIP3. In order for the payment to reach you, the IRS relies on 2019 or 2020 tax returns filed or benefit records, such as Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits, Supplemental Security Income or Veterans Affairs benefits. If you don’t fall into these categories, and you did not register for the first EIP using the IRS Non-Filers tool in 2020, you will have to file a 2020 tax return. If you don’t have a Social Security number, but file a tax return with a taxpayer ID number, that will not suffice. The EIP is limited to people with Social Security numbers.

For more details on EIP3, see IRS Fact Sheet 2021-05 (tinyurl.com/46ux98bz).

On another matter, if you are interested in the basics of estate planning, join me for a virtual presentation, “Financial Planning for Retirement III -- Estate Plan.” It will be held on Wednesday, April 7, at 1 p.m. EDT, and is sponsored by the Greenwich (Connecticut) Library. To register, go to tinyurl.com/34t2c6dx or contact Yang Wang, 203-622-7924, ywang@greenwichlibrary.org.

Julie Jason, JD, LLM, a personal money manager (Jackson, Grant Investment Advisers Inc. of Stamford, Connecticut) and award-winning author, welcomes your questions/comments (readers@juliejason.com). Please visit www.juliejason.com.

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The IRS has been busy. From a third round of stimulus payments, to a delayed tax filing date, to relief for taxpayers involved in disputes with the federal tax agency -- just to name a few of the things everyone needs to know about.

Stimulus: You may have already received your stimulus check. Ninety million payments have been sent out so far, according to the IRS. More than $242 billion arrived in individual bank accounts through direct deposit or as a check via mail recently, thanks to the American Rescue Plan -- with more stimulus payments arriving in the coming weeks.

If you provided direct deposit information on your 2019 or 2020 tax returns (or if you used the Non-Filers tool on IRS.gov last year), take a look at your checking account for the deposit.

The deposit could add up to a tidy sum. For couples who are eligible, it’s $2,800, plus $1,400 for each dependent.

If you haven’t received your payment yet, you can check the Get My Payment tool (tinyurl.com/um7wjjk9) on the IRS website to find out more details of when the stimulus money might arrive. According to the website, Get My Payment is updated once a day.

To use the tool, you enter your Social Security number, date of birth, street address and ZIP code. Once you hit the “Continue” button, you’ll be given details on your payment. The website explains the various status messages you might see: Payment Status, Payment Status Not Available or Need More Information. More detail on the status messages can be found in the Get My Payment FAQs (tinyurl.com/ncuvxv7d).

For more information about the stimulus payment, read the IRS’ “More details about the third round of Economic Impact Payments” at tinyurl.com/5ptc8pru.

New tax date: In case you missed it, the IRS and the Treasury Department announced on March 17 that the federal income tax filing due date for the 2020 tax year for individuals has been extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021 (tinyurl.com/4vkztt6t). This relief does not apply to estimated tax payments, which are still due on April 15, 2021. Also, the postponement does not apply to state taxes, with the IRS recommending that taxpayers check with their state tax agencies (tinyurl.com/59ap7v2p) for more details.

It is the second year in a row that the federal income tax due date has been extended, with last year’s being moved from April 15 to July 15 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tax Court: Virtual help is available from the IRS for taxpayers involved in Tax Court cases without having to go to trial. The mechanism is Virtual Settlement Day (VSD).

VSDs offer taxpayers a chance to resolve cases. Since last May, the IRS has settled 259 taxpayer cases through VSD. Taxpayers can receive free tax advice from Low Income Taxpayer Clinics, American Bar Association volunteer attorneys or pro bono organizations.

“I strongly encourage all taxpayers who have the ability to participate in a settlement day event to do so because they will understand their own case better while not giving up their day in court if they so choose,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement.

The timing is right. We are in the middle of “National Settlement Month,” and VSD events will be available for taxpayers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. To find out more, go to tinyurl.com/ycd2tn9y.

Julie Jason, JD, LLM, a personal money manager (Jackson, Grant Investment Advisers Inc. of Stamford, Connecticut) and award-winning author, welcomes your questions/comments (readers@juliejason.com). Please visit www.juliejason.com.

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Every now and then, people in the know share insights through this column. This week, Lauren Zajac, who is the chief legal officer at Workhuman (which provides human capital management software) and is an advocate for the empowerment of women, offered thoughts on how women make -- or don’t make -- financial decisions.

One of the topics we discussed was professional women who have very successful careers but often abdicate to their husbands on financial affairs. Why would they do that?

Zajac said she did this in her own life, adding that “I think there’s some level of indoctrination around who typically makes those decisions in the family. At least for me, there was some kind of mental block: He knows how to do that so I won’t get involved.”

Zajac related the story of buying a car. When the dealer pointed out that she was a tough negotiator, she said, “That’s kind of what I do for a living.” When he followed up by asking what her husband thought about it, she responded, “Did you really just say that?”

Allianz Life Insurance’s 2019 Women, Money and Power Study (tinyurl.com/yaz2jmkp) found that 57% of the women surveyed said they wished they were more confident in their financial decision-making. A single mother of three children, Zajac said that “being in control of my finances has brought a lot of security and confidence to my life. The first time I bought a car or when I closed on my house, I was elated, because I accomplished it myself.”

So at what point should women become involved in their family’s finances (if they aren’t already)? Zajac said it depends on the individual’s situation, adding that “I think it’s all part of a woman’s self-awareness and self-worth journey.”

“One of the things I’ve been working on over the last couple of years is recognizing ‘You can do this,’” Zajac said. “Whatever path you’re on, I think that you start to become aware of those places where you give away your power, and those are the places you have to take back first.”

A Fidelity study released last year (tinyurl.com/y9ta6dsl) found that after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of the women surveyed (67%) said they were more engaged in managing their money. Among the other survey results were that women were taking steps to “better educate themselves” (36%) and had become “more comfortable talking about money” (35%). Ideally, employers should see this trend and look to enhance it by offering financial literacy seminars and bringing in speakers to talk to women in business. How important is it that companies have a role? 

“I think it’s important, especially for bigger companies, and I do think there’s a focus now,” Zajac said. “In America, there are certainly lots of conversations happening about pay equity. And there are lots of conversations about different types of leadership and the course of women in corporate America.”

“It's one of these areas that women are sort of hesitant to get into,” she said. “Like what do I need to know to financially plan for my future? What do I need to know to refinance my mortgage? Certainly, this is one of the places where I think corporations can help, as they are sort of the last bastion of true continuing education.”

If you want to share your expertise on a favorite topic, contact me at readers@juliejason.com.

Julie Jason, JD, LLM, a personal money manager (Jackson, Grant Investment Advisers Inc. of Stamford, Connecticut) and award-winning author, welcomes your questions/comments (readers@juliejason.com). Please visit www.juliejason.com.

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