Stimulus

The IRS says that if you received an EIP Notice 1444 in the mail or a payment date from “Get My Payment,” but have not received your payment, you can request a payment trace.

To trace your payment, call 800-919-9835Call via Mitel or submit IRS Form 3911, which, under normal circumstances, is used for an issue with a refund. You can download the form at irs.gov, but don’t expect too much going this route. The IRS is still not processing correspondence received through the mail. And the phone assistance will test your patience.

“Taxpayers contacting the EIP phone line should be aware we are open with limited staffing and expect recorded assistance or long wait times for an assister,” the agency said in a statement. “Taxpayers should not request a payment trace if they are trying

to determine if they are eligible or what payment amount they should have received. You must have been issued the EIP Notice 1444 or received a payment date from Get My Payment to perform a trace.”

No stimulus payment: The IRS continues to issue payments based on recently filed tax returns and to some individuals with foreign addresses who are awaiting payment, according to IRS spokesman Eric Smith.

If you haven’t filed a federal tax return for 2018 or 2019 or your income is too low, you won’t receive an automatic stimulus payment unless you use the non-filer tool at irs.gov to provide simple information to the IRS.

The EIP payment is an advance credit for 2020. Stimulus payments must be made by Dec. 31, so there’s still time. If you receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Railroad Retirement benefits or Veterans Affairs

benefits, you are supposed to get an automatic payment. If you haven’t gotten the money, it may still be on the way.

If you don’t receive payment by the end of the year, you’ll still have an opportunity to get the stimulus funds. It’s not ideal if you’re struggling now, but you can get the money when you file your 2020 federal return next year.

Readers can write to Michelle Singletary c/o The Washington Post, 1301 K St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20071. Her email address is michelle. singletary@washpost. com. Follow her on Twitter (@SingletaryM) or Facebook (www.facebook. com/MichelleSingletary). Comments and questions are welcome, but due to the volume of mail, personal responses may not be possible. Please also note comments or questions may be used in a future column, with the writer’s name, unless a specific request to do otherwise is indicated.