Could your cash remain in jeopardy?
The COVID-19 crisis has been damaging the economy for approximately a month now, and impacted Americans are growing increasingly desperate. Thankfully, there’s relief on the horizon in the kind of the $1,200 stimulus checks that have already started striking some individuals’s bank accounts.
Eligibility for a stimulus payment hinges on the earnings reported on your most recently submitted tax return. If your adjusted gross income is $75,000 or under and you’re a single tax filer, you get your $1,200 stimulus in full, and you may be eligible for an additional $500 per qualifying child in your home.
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Are debt collectors coming for your money?
Debt collectors can’t simply sweep in and snatch up your stimulus cash out of the blue. If that’s the case, your stimulus cash might be in jeopardy.
That said, legislators are pressing to modify those guidelines by safeguarding stimulus payments from that really fate. The reasoning is that money is coming as a reaction to a crisis, and numerous of those who stand to collect it need that money to pay near-term costs and put food on their tables.
Protecting your stimulus payment
If you’re at risk of having your stimulus money garnished, there might be a few things you can do to avoid that from happening. First, if you receive a check in the mail– which must be the case if the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t have bank account information for you on file– you can cash that check instead of deposit it. When a garnishment comes through against you, your bank can be purchased to freeze your account, but if that cash isn’t in your account, your lenders can’t touch it. You can also try seeking advice from a lawyer if you fear your stimulus is at danger, though if you remain in a position where you’re banking on that $1,200 to pay for essentials, you might not have the ability to swing the costs related to working with a lawyer.
Finally, don’t lose hope. Some state and local governments have already issued emergency situation orders to stop garnishments from occurring, so depending upon where you live, your money may be safe. And, as pointed out previously, we might see an across-the-board restriction on garnishing stimulus money considering that its intent is to pull Americans through a crisis– not hang a carrot in front of their noses only to snatch it away.
