Coleman Jackson, P.C. | Transcript of Legal Thoughts Podcast
Published January 11, 2021.
Legal Thoughts is a podcast presentation by Coleman Jackson, P.C., a law firm based in Dallas, Texas serving individuals, businesses, and agencies from around the world in taxation, litigation, and immigration legal matters.
This particular episode of Legal Thoughts is a podcast where the Attorney, Coleman Jackson is being interviewed by Reyna Munoz, Tax Legal Assistant of Coleman Jackson, P.C. The topic of discussion is “Update on Covid-19 Relief for Individuals and Businesses” You can listen to this podcast by clicking here:
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TRANSCRIPT:
ATTORNEY: Coleman Jackson
Legal Thoughts
COLEMAN JACKSON, ATTORNEY & COUNSELOR AT LAW
ATTORNEY: Coleman Jackson
Welcome to Tax Thoughts
- My name is Coleman Jackson, and I am an attorney at Coleman Jackson, P.C., a taxation, litigation and immigration law firm based in Dallas, Texas.
- Our topic for today is: “Update on Covid-19 Relief for Individuals and Businesses.”
- Other members of Coleman Jackson, P.C. are Yulissa Molina, Tax Legal Assistant, Leiliane Godeiro, Litigation Legal Assistant, Reyna Munoz, Immigration Legal Assistant and Mayra Torres, Public Relations Associate.
- On this “Legal Thoughts” podcast our immigration legal assistant, Reyna Munoz will be asking the questions and I will be responding to her questions on this important tax topic: “Update on Covid-19 Relief for Individuals and Businesses.”
Reyna Munoz Introduces Herself to the Audience:
- Good morning everyone. My name is Reyna Munoz, and I am the Immigration Legal Assistant at Coleman Jackson, P.C. Coleman Jackson, P.C. is a taxation, litigation and immigration law firm based right here in Dallas, Texas.
- Attorney a lot of folks are receiving bills from the IRS claiming that they owe a “shared responsibility payment for failure to maintain healthcare coverage on members of their household”. I mean some of these bills are for tax periods that are a long time ago, like 2015, 2017 and 2018. What is this about?
- Question 1: Just tell me, what is this all about?
Attorney: Coleman Jackson
ANSWER 1:
- Good morning Reyna.
- Yes Reyna; Congress recently passed and the President recently signed into law a $900 Billion Covid Relief Package with quite a few tax provisions. The package includes $600 payments to individual taxpayers with adjusted gross income (AGI) of $75,000 or less or in case of head of households with adjusted gross income (AGI) of $112,500. The new relief payment for joint return tax filers is $1,200 with AGI of $150,000 or less. And taxpayers receive $600 for each qualifying child. The new relief package also extended the weekly federal unemployment compensation of $300 for qualified individuals who lost their jobs due to Covid-19.”.
Interviewer: Reyna Munoz, Immigration Legal Assistant
Question 2:
- Attorney, who qualifies for the recovery rebate tax credits or stimulus checks?
Attorney: Coleman Jackson
ANSWER 2:
- Other than the adjusted gross income limitations that I mentioned, the following individuals are eligible to receive stimulus checks unless specifically ineligible:
- Everyone is eligible other than —
- Any nonresident alien individual;
- Any individual with respect to whom a deduction under section 151 is allowable to another taxpayer for a taxable year beginning in the calendar year in which the individual’s taxable year begins; and
- Any estate or trust.
- To summarize: Anyone who does not fall into either 1, 2 or 3 above is eligible to receive a stimulus check.
Interviewer: Reyna Munoz, Immigration Legal Assistant
Question 3:
What is the substantial presence test?
Attorney: Coleman Jackson
ANSWER 3:
- Reyna; that is an excellent question!
- In United States Tax Law a nonresident alien is any individual who is not a United States Citizen and does not pass the Green Card Test or Substantial Presence Test.
- To summarize: A Nonresident is anyone who is not
- a United States Citizen; or
- a Lawful Permanent Resident or Green Card Holder; or
- a person who passes the substantial presence test with respect to length of physical presence within the United States. We go into detailed discussions of the substantial presence test in prior blogs which can be found on our website and in prior podcast as well. So I will not go through this mechanical test again now.
Interviewer: Reyna Munoz, Tax Legal Assistant
QUESTION 4:
- Attorney how does an eligible individual apply for a stimulus check?
Attorney: Coleman Jackson
ANSWER 4:
- Well, taxpayers don’t exactly have to apply for stimulus checks.
- Taxpayers who are eligible to receive a stimulus check will receive the check by direct deposit to any account to which the taxpayer authorized the IRS to send refunds or federal payments to on or after January 1, 2019. In the event the taxpayer does not authorize the IRS to direct deposit the stimulus check the United States Treasury will mail a paper check or debit card directly to the last known address of the taxpayer. The law requires the Treasury to send out these payments as rapidly as possible. Eligible individuals should already have received their stimulus check or should receive them pretty soon.
Interviewer: Reyna Munoz, Tax Legal Assistant
- That sounds easy enough; but Attorney!
Question 5:
- How will the United States Treasury know the correct amount of money to send to the taxpayer?
Attorney: Coleman Jackson
ANSWER 5:
- Excellent question!
- The stimulus payment computations and eligibilities will be based on tax returns filed by taxpayers for the tax period ending December 31, 2019.
Interviewer: Reyna Munoz, Tax Legal Assistant
Question 6:
- What should families do if they think they are eligible but they have not received a stimulus check at all or in the wrong amount?
Attorney: Coleman Jackson
ANSWER 6:
- They should contact the Internal Revenue Service and inquire.
Interviewer: Reyna Munoz, Tax Legal Assistant
- Covid-19 has killed a lot of people. And also lots of people have died since December 31, 2019; my question is whether their heirs, such as, surviving spouses and children going to receive their deceased relatives stimulus payments. I am kind of wondering about this since the tax refunds or credits are based on tax returns filed for tax periods ending December 31, 2019. Is that right!
Question 7:
- Attorney, are the heirs of a deceased individual eligible to receive a stimulus check on behalf of the decedent?
Attorney: Coleman Jackson
ANSWER 7:
- The “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021”. That is the official title of the United States Law that was recently passed by Congress that implemented the tax provisions we have been talking about this morning in this podcast.
- Under the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021”; any individual who was deceased before January 1, 2020 or in case of joint return, both taxpayers were deceased before January 1, 2020; the heirs of those taxpayers would not receive the stimulus payment.
- Under the Act, any individual who dies after January 1, 2020 or in case of joint return, both taxpayers die after January 1, 2020, the lawful heirs of those taxpayers should be able to claim the stimulus payment. They might have to specifically make a claim with the IRS like you would normally in a decedent representative case. What I am saying is that I am not sure the U.S. Treasury would know to send the stimulus payment to a decedent’s heir or representative unless they are told of the decedent’s death.
Reyna Munoz’s Concluding Remarks
- Attorney, thank you for this cogent presentation.
- I know we have not talked about the $900 Billion Covid Relief Packages’ tax implications for businesses yet. Perhaps we can talk more about this and produce a future podcast or blog.
- Our listeners who want to hear more podcast like this one should subscribe to our Legal Thoughts Podcast on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify or wherever they listen to their podcast. Everybody take care! And come back in about two weeks, for more taxation, litigation and immigration Legal Thoughts from Coleman Jackson, P.C., which is located right here in Dallas, Texas at 6060 North Central Expressway, Suite 620, Dallas, Texas 75206.
- English callers: 214-599-0431; Spanish callers: 214-599-0432 and Portuguese callers: 214-272-3100.
- English callers: 214-599-0431 and Spanish callers: 214-599-0432.
Attorney’s Concluding Remarks:
THIS IS END OF “LEGAL THOUGHTS” FOR NOW
- Thanks for giving us the opportunity to inform you about “Updates on the Recent $900 Billion Covid Relief Package Recently Enacted Into Law. We talked basically about the Stimulus Payments in this blog; but there are many individual and business tax provisions in the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021”. We could do several future podcast and blogs on this massive piece of legislation. If you want to see or hear more taxation, litigation and immigration LEGAL THOUGHTS from Coleman Jackson, P.C. Stay tune! Watch for a new Legal Thoughts podcast in about two weeks. We are here in Dallas, Texas and want to inform, educate and encourage our communities on topics dealing with taxation, litigation and immigration. Until next time, take care.
