My son was a dependent in 2018 taxes and filed 2019 taxes as Married Filing separately on 4/11/2020. how can he receive his stimulus check. his AGI is 33,654

[lbard]

Would the IRS have considered him a dependent and bypassed him based on his 2018 tax return?

[MinhT1]

The IRS will look first at the 2019 tax return.

If your son has filed his 2019 tax return as a non-dependent, he will receive the stimulus payment of $1,200.

[lbard]

Thank you !  I was concerned with the timing.  So as long as we filed before 4/15 they will not have referred back to the 2018 tax return correct?

[NCperson]

@lbard - in the end it is not going to matter......  in case the IRS looks to the 2018 return, it will work it self out next year

here is why:

• The stimulus payments are really based on your 2020 tax return (income, dependents, etc).
• The IRS is using either 2018 or 2019 – whatever is available  - to ESTIMATE that payment
• When you file next year there will be a “settle up” section on the tax return.
•   If you are due more stimulus (and this would include where you simply never received it), you will receive it through the 2020 tax filing.
• If you received too much, by law, you are not required to return it

so whatever his status was in 2018 or 2019 won't matter 

[ahbPA]

I have a similar question. We claimed our daughter as a dependent in 2018, but this year she was independent and filed her taxes in early April. We have not yet filed our 2019 taxes. Would this delay her stimulus check as they'd see her as a dependent on our 2018 taxes?

[macuser_22]

Since she has never filed a tax return of her own 2018 or 2019, then there is no income (AGI)  for her for the IRS to base a payment on so, no, until she files a tax return there will not be a payment.  If she filed in April then until that is processed it will not be in the database.

[NCperson]

@macuser_22 - she did file in 2019 per the post 🙂 

The IRS should be sending out here stimulus based on HER 2019 tax return.  Yours' should not matter - she wasn't eligible for the $500 under your 2018 tax return in any event. 

But it won't matter in the end.... (other than time)

• The stimulus payments are really based on your daughter's 2020 tax return (income, dependents, etc).
• The IRS is using either 2018 or 2019 – whatever is available  - to ESTIMATE that payment
• When she files next year there will be a “settle up” section on the tax return. 
• If she is due more stimulus (and this would include where she simply never received it), she will receive it through the 2020 tax filing as an additional credit (or to reduce what taxes she owes) 

[macuser_22]

@NCperson  Yes, I know (I added a note about filing in April).   The question asked about a delay.   Since a return filed in April must be processed and the IRS is operating at a snails pace now, that will most certainly  be a delay until the 2019 return is processed.