Q: Am I eligible for getting an Economic Impact (Stimulus) Payment? How much will I be getting? How will it be sent?Ī: Your card servicer, tax preparer and Pathward are unable to answer these questions. You can also visit for Frequently Asked Questions The IRS updates its Get My Payment (GMP) tool at IRS.gov daily to provide timely information that helps individuals more clearly understand the status of their EIP. If you received an EIP Card, please visit for more information or call the number on the back of your Card for assistanceįor general questions about Economic Impact (Stimulus) Payments you can visit irs.gov/EIP At the end of an otherwise disappointing session of Congress, the inclusion of incarcerated people in the stimulus program is a small ray of hope.As a result of the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021," the IRS issued a third round of Economic Impact Payments (EIP) directly to individuals. The second round of stimulus payments will help people pay for basic necessities in prison or jail, and perhaps begin saving to cover expenses upon release from custody. When incarcerated people lack the money needed to pay for basic health and communications items, the financial burden typically falls on their loved ones on the outside who may have to sacrifice basic needs to support family members in prison. ![]() In the many facilities that have suspended in-person visits, phone and video are now essential services (which come with a price tag). But the COVID-19 crisis has brought communications costs (phone, video, and electronic messaging) into sharp contrast. Even before the pandemic, day-to-day life in prison and jail was getting expensive, with commissary charges for basic food and hygiene items, and increasingly common pay-to-play e-book and music programs. It’s a good thing that Congress stuck to the policy of including incarcerated people in the pool of eligible recipients. ![]() The fact that no such language appears in the bill passed in December suggests that this issue was probably the subject of actual negotiation. In July, when Congress first started to consider a subsequent round of stimulus, the Senate Finance Committee proposed legislative language that would exclude incarcerated people from receiving funds (both going forward and retroactively). Others who made this same argument ultimately prevailed in court and incarcerated people began to receive stimulus checks. As we wrote previously, because Congress did not exclude people in prison or jail, the IRS had no choice but to issue the payments to incarcerated people who otherwise qualified. The IRS made an ill-advised (not to mention unauthorized) attempt to exclude incarcerated people, but this policy was slapped down by the federal courts. The previous stimulus bill, passed in March, took some people by surprise by not making incarcerated people ineligible for direct cash payments. Without detracting from Congress’s failure to support the millions of people who need help, it is worth pausing to acknowledge one unexpected victory in the bill: It contains no prohibition on stimulus payments for incarcerated people. In the wake of the recently passed stimulus bill, many Americans are complaining about the paltry direct payments of $600. The law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, which brought the successful California lawsuit about incarcerated people qualifying for stimulus checks, has a webpage with useful information that may be updated soon.The National Consumer Law Center has published a helpful FAQ. ![]() ![]() The IRS’s Get My Payment tool and FAQ, as well as the IRS’s detailed press release about the new round of payments, might be helpful.Some prisons are making the form available upon request. People in prison who did not receive the stimulus payment (first or second) may be able to claim the payments by filling out a 1040 tax form and mailing it to the IRS.In the meantime, we offer a few suggestions: As we learn more, we’ll update this article, but we can’t answer individual questions to help readers get their payments. Details are still coming out about how this new round of stimulus payments will be sent to incarcerated people.
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