Inmates and stimulus package

[TJMoore]

My brother is incarcerated, he did not file a tax return for 2018 or 2019 as he was incarcerated during those years.  However he does purchase things that stimulate the economy just not in the typical way.  Does he qualify for a stimulus check?  If so how would we go about it?  Sign him up on the Non-filers link on the irs.gov website? 

[GiseleD]

If he qualifies for a stimulus payment and is not required to file a tax return, and does not receive Social Security income, he can e-file his IRS registration for free with TurboTax to receive the stimulus payment with our Stimulus Registration. 

[TJMoore]

@GiseleD Can I file for him, as he doesn't have internet access as an inmate. 

[GiseleD]

I'm sorry, I misread your original question. I thought he was currently out of prison. If he is still incarcerated, and was throughout all of 2018 and 2019, he will not currently qualify for the stimulus now. He is a ward/dependent of the state. 

@TJMoore

[Mom_62]

my son will be getting out in next month 11/20 will he be able to receive the stimulus check, since he so close to coming home.

[xmasbaby0]

@Mom_62 

From the IRS:

 

 

 

Q A14. Does someone who is incarcerated qualify for the Payment? (updated October 8, 2020)

A14. Pursuant to a preliminary injunction entered in Scholl v. Mnuchin, No. 20-cv-05309 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 24, 2020), appeal docketed, No. 20-16915 (9th Cir.),  the IRS cannot deny a payment to someone who is incarcerated if they meet the criteria described above in the response to Q A1.   Information can be provided to the IRS by using the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info here online tool by November 21, 2020.  Or, you may mail us a 2019 simplified paper tax return following the procedures at File a Simplified Paper Tax Return by the court-ordered deadline of October 30, 2020.

The government has filed an appeal and request to stay the preliminary injunction.  Any updates regarding the appeal will be posted on this webpage.

[ckwebb65]

Do I need a power of attorney to file electronically?

[CharlieRey]

Hello,

What are the procedures for inmates to claim the stipend? Are relatives allowed to do this for them?

[MaryM428]

Yes, your incarcerated brother is eligible to receive the stimulus.  You cannot file a tax return for your brother and you cannot sign him up for non-filers link on the irs.gov website. He can ask for advice from the prison or jail authorities on how to file for himself.

You can read more information on this topic in QA7 at Economic Impact Payment Eligibility

@ CharlieRey

[jg102316]

My wife has a signed power of attorney from her father (who is incarcerated).  Her father has little to no access to any resources or guidance on how to properly file taxes in order to get the 1st and 2nd stimulus payments that he never received.  The one thing he has received is a written letter instructing them to file their 2020 taxes to get both payments.  My wife will be filing on behalf of her father since she has access to the internet, filing software, external guidance, etc and he has basically nothing.  Is IRS Form 2848 necessary?  There's things on there like a CAF number that we've never encountered before.  After reading the instructions for Form 2848, it seems the IRS views someone filing taxes for someone else as a very formal process with levels of qualification and serialized identifying numbers that my wife just doesn't have.

Is my wife's attempt at filing 2020 taxes for her father in order to get the stimulus payments going to get overly-complicated?  He has never filed before, nor has met the threshold to file for taxes in previous years.

[DMarkM1]

No.  She doesn't need the Form 2848 since she has a POA already.  Complete the return and e-file as usual. With zero income she will probably need to put a $1 interest income to allow the filing.

Send a copy of the POA you have, along with a Form 8453, Transmittal Form, to the IRS.

Here is a list of addresses.

For taxpayers in: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, or West Virginia

Send to:  Internal Revenue Service 5333 Get well Road Stop 8423 Memphis, TN 38118 

Taxpayers in: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, or Wyoming

Send to:   Internal Revenue Service 1973 Rulon White Blvd., MS 6737 Ogden, UT 84201 

Others:  All APO and FPO addresses, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, a foreign country, or otherwise outside the United States.

Send to:  Internal Revenue Service International CAF Team 2970 Market Street MS: 4-H14.123. Philadelphia, PA 19104  

[whiparino]

What does my incarcerated son have to do to file for stimulus

[ErnieS0]

Your son will have to file a 2020 income tax return to get the stimulus payments. The IRS is no longer sending out separate stimulus payments. Instead the stimulus amounts will be included as a “refund” on the 2020 tax return. He should get $1,800 ($1,200 + $600).

Generally, you are eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit (stimulus) if you were a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien in 2020, cannot be claimed as a dependent of another taxpayer for tax year 2020, and have a Social Security number valid for employment that is issued before the due date of your 2020 tax return (including extensions).

Learn more at What is the Recovery Rebate Credit?

Pay received for work while an inmate in a penal institution is not taxable so if your son is working, he does not have to include that income on his tax return.

[cowsanducks]

My husband incarcerated and has missed the last 2 years to file taxes and also missed sign up for 2020. He qualifies for stimulus EIP but I don't know how to file for him?

[KrisD15]

He can sign a power of attorney (Form 2848) which would allow you to file and sign a 2020 Tax year return for him. 

Form 2848