Social Security recipients won’t need to file taxes to get stimulus check

Treasury Secretary Steve MnuchinAP

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Social Security recipients won’t have to file a tax return to receive a coronavirus stimulus check.

“Social Security recipients who are not typically required to file a tax return do not need to take an action, and will receive their payment directly to their bank account,” Mnuchin said in a statement released Wednesday.

People who receive Social Security benefits and are eligible will receive the $1,200 payment, “as a direct deposit or by paper check, just as they would normally receive their benefits.”

The about-face comes after a group of Democratic senators sent a letter to Mnuchin asking him to change the guidelines included in the rescue plan passed by Congress last week, which say people who weren’t required to file returns for 2018 or 2019 would have to file a return to get a payment.

They said it would place a “significant burden” on seniors who collect Social Security benefits and are not typically required to file a tax return.

The coronavirus rescue bill will provide $1,200 checks to individual adults making less than $75,000 a year and $2,400 to married couples who file jointly and earn less than $150,000.

From: https://nypost.com/2020/04/02/social-security-recipients-will-get-stimulus-checks-mnuchin/