The IRS has cleared up some confusion regarding senior citizens’ stimulus payments, as a result of a contradiction between the IRS website and the language of the CARES Act about whether or not a “simple tax return” will need to be filed.   It has been clarified that seniors will not need to file tax returns to receive a stimulus payment, instead, the payments will automatically be deposited into their bank accounts. The Treasury had been planning to rely on information from 2018 and 2019 tax returns to send out the stimulus payments, but now it will also use information from Social Security forms.

The IRS said it will use the information on the Form SSA-1099 and Form RRB-1099 to generate $1,200 economic impact payments to Social Security recipients who didn’t file tax returns in 2018 or 2019. Social Security recipients will receive the stimulus payments.