How's everyone doing?!

[Diddly]

I got my Trump 1200 a few weeks ago. I think the Tuesday after Easter? It was direct deposited into my account. Haven't filed for 2019 taxes yet, and my bank is a regional credit union.

I was going to donate it somewhere until I read that we have to pay it back on next year's taxes, so I'm just going to have it sit in savings, so I can at least make a small fraction of interest off of it.

[Rob]

I was going to donate it somewhere until I read that we have to pay it back on next year's taxes,

I'm pretty sure that's not true. 

Edit:  Not true.

Do I have to pay back my $1,200 stimulus check? Don’t fall for these 5 myths about the stimulus payments

Do I have to pay the stimulus money back?
No. Full stop.

The “economic impact payment” you receive depends on how much money you make, according to either your 2018 tax return or your 2019 tax return. The 2019 return is the one that everyone has until July 15 to submit.

Individuals with adjusted gross incomes below $75,000 will get $1,200 and married couples with adjusted gross incomes below $150,000 will get $2,400. Additionally, the government will pay $500 for every qualifying child under age 17. The stimulus payments decrease $5 dollars for every $100 dollars above the $75,000/$150,000 line and ends entirely for individuals making more than $99,000 and couples making over $198,000.

When the IRS determines your payment amount, it looks at the adjusted gross income listed on the 2019 tax return. If that’s not on file, the IRS looks at what’s on the 2018 return.

[Diddly]

Interesting. Either way, probably better for it to be sitting in savings.

[JediJman]

Savings!?  But isn't the intent of a "stimulus check" to boost the economy?   

[Jesse James]

Mine I’m mulling over what to use it on still so yeah, haha...  I’m sure if I were out of work I’d be thinking of it differently.  Right now it’s just a bonus.

[Nicklab]

I got a form letter from the IRS about the payment earlier this week.  And not to get overtly political, but it REALLY came across like a Trump campaign message with the whole "White House" letterhead and the oversized Trump signature in sharpie.

[Morgbug]

I got a form letter from the IRS about the payment earlier this week.  And not to get overtly political, but it REALLY came across like a Trump campaign message with the whole "White House" letterhead and the oversized Trump signature in sharpie.

And failing miserably.   

[Nicklab]

I got a form letter from the IRS about the payment earlier this week.  And not to get overtly political, but it REALLY came across like a Trump campaign message with the whole "White House" letterhead and the oversized Trump signature in sharpie.

And failing miserably.   

I couldn’t let our Federal government feel lonely about their failure in responding to the virus.

[Morgbug]

I got a form letter from the IRS about the payment earlier this week.  And not to get overtly political, but it REALLY came across like a Trump campaign message with the whole "White House" letterhead and the oversized Trump signature in sharpie.

And failing miserably.   

I couldn’t let our Federal government feel lonely about their failure in responding to the virus.

If it's any consolation ours reacted almost identically, except slower. 

[Rob]

I got a form letter from the IRS about the payment earlier this week.  And not to get overtly political, but it REALLY came across like a Trump campaign message with the whole "White House" letterhead and the oversized Trump signature in sharpie.

I got it too.  And that’s 100% what it was. 

[Nicklab]

I got a form letter from the IRS about the payment earlier this week.  And not to get overtly political, but it REALLY came across like a Trump campaign message with the whole "White House" letterhead and the oversized Trump signature in sharpie.

And failing miserably.   

I couldn’t let our Federal government feel lonely about their failure in responding to the virus.

If it's any consolation ours reacted almost identically, except slower. 

I got the impression that the Canadian government at least had a better handle on the economic impact, and made better provisions for the public in terms of guaranteed income during the shutdown.

[McMetal]

They made sure everyone got enough pemmican to get them through, that’s for sure. 

[Morgbug]

I got a form letter from the IRS about the payment earlier this week.  And not to get overtly political, but it REALLY came across like a Trump campaign message with the whole "White House" letterhead and the oversized Trump signature in sharpie.

And failing miserably.   

I couldn’t let our Federal government feel lonely about their failure in responding to the virus.

If it's any consolation ours reacted almost identically, except slower. 

I got the impression that the Canadian government at least had a better handle on the economic impact, and made better provisions for the public in terms of guaranteed income during the shutdown.

I was referring to the response to shutting stuff down/quarantine/etc.  We were slower in shutting down international travel and implementing quarantine strategies.  That's not to say the U.S. did well, I'm not implying that. 

I think it is fair to say the economic stuff may have been handled better in many respects, if not all.  But it depends and I think a lot of people are in for a surprise next year.  Our money ($2000/month for a maximum of four months) is good if you qualify but it's also taxable at your marginal tax rate.  So even at low rates, 25% of that is going back to the government next year.  Certainly that's still better than the one time payment the U.S. seems to get, though as I understand it everyone gets it.  I'm getting diddly, though given I'm considered essential it's not unfair. 

We're also going to see a lot of abuse and already are as we are coming out of quarantine (Manitoba had one of the lowest infectivity/mortality rates of anywhere).  Lots of people that don't clear $2000 don't want to go back to work so they are leaving their employers stranded.  Of course they don't recognize they only need to clear whatever the amount is less the taxes that will ultimately be applied next year. 

Then there's the economic impact going forward regarding the federal deficit.  This isn't a government that was remotely frugal in good times.  It liked to fling money about then and it's doing so more now.  The latter is reasonable, it's what should be done in extreme circumstances.  But five years of consistent deficit funding?  Push it down the road, push it down the road.  What if interest rates go up?  Whoops. 

[Rob]

Certainly that's still better than the one time payment the U.S. seems to get, though as I understand it everyone gets it.  I'm getting diddly, though given I'm considered essential it's not unfair. 

Not everyone gets it, there's a scale.  There are different tiers for married couples, and bonuses for each kid you have, but for individuals it goes about like this:  If your taxable income was under $75k last year, you get the full $1,200.  If your taxable income was over over $100,000 you don't get anything.  Everything in between drops you $5 for every $100 you made over $75k.  Mine was a couple hundred dollars, and while I suppose I'll take it, I'm doing just fine all things considered and feel that it was a waste to send anything to someone like me.  Likewise, there are people who have lost their job who don't qualify and currently would need it more than me. I don't know of a 'better' way to do it, but I feel like lots of money's going to dumb places.

That said, my company did secure a loan through the first stimulus package, and it's probably a huge part of the reason why we haven't had to lay anyone off.  At a minimum, it's part of why our temporary pay cuts weren't drastically larger.  For that I'm really grateful.  The "loan" becomes a grant if you get all the way through this without layoffs, so they have an incentive to keep it this way.

[Morgbug]

Thanks for the clarification Rob.