When the federal government announced that the second round of stimulus checks would be coming for every American family it was welcomed as great news. Promises of at least $600 for each individual taxpayer isn't a huge amount of money, but when you're hurting financially it's still a huge help.
For families like the Duplinsky's in Pittsburgh's Dormont neighborhood, it brought new hope. Brandon and Lindsay Duplinsky have five kids and had just moved into their new home last January. Then came coronavirus. Brandon lost his job and Lindsay was at home with Multiple Sclerosis and the children. Bills started piling up and backing up.
Brandon now has a new job and things are looking brighter, but they're still digging out of the financial hole the pandemic brought them and many others just like them. The second stimulus payment is what they desperately need to catch up with their mortgage and the rest of the family bills. They were counting on it, and then this happened.
Brandon tried calling the IRS but couldn't get through to anyone, so he called Get Marty. That's when we started digging and learned that Brandon isn't alone. There are thousands of people in the same situation. We talked about it during today's radio show.
Rachael Hopkins is the caseworker who jumped in to help us. What she discovered is extremely disappointing. She says, "Normally I would be able to contact the IRS directly and have them look into the status of a constituent's stimulus check, but my contact told me that because of the short time frame the IRS has to send the checks out, they discontinued the use of that system. At this point, the quickest way for them to get their money would be to file their 2020 taxes electronically and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their return."
Rep. Mike Doyle's office can help with federal agenciesdoyle.house.gov
That can't even be done until the IRS starts accepting tax filings near the end of this month. After that she says it could take another 21 days until people get their refunds. That's at least two more months of waiting for the Duplinsky family. They need help now and one of the quickest ways to do that is setting up a GoFundMe page.
How Can You Help?
GoFundMe: Family In Need
How Do You Check Your Stimulus Status?
Visit: Get My Payment
Follow the instructions to see when, how, and where your stimulus payment is being sent.
IRS Statement - Update On Economic Impact Payments
The Treasury Department just released an updated statement on the situation. You can read the details by following the link here: IRS Statement
