April 15 is normally the day we have to give money to the government in the form of our income taxes. But this year, not only did the government kick the tax deadline to July, this year it's given us money in the form of an economic stimulus check.
Those of us who owe rent, or bills, have begun to get a little help from the government in the form of that stimulus money we’ve told you about.
But just how “free” is this so-called “free money”?
If banks looked a little busier this week, you might want to check your account to see if your stimulus money has arrived.
Bertha McClain says hers got here just in time.
"Um, yes to pay some bills, you know, it came right on time to pay some bills that I needed to pay," she said.
The money, aims to keep us afloat in what some experts have already cautiously begun to call the coronavirus recession.
But will we have to pay it back?
"I was, you know, under the impression, by looking at the news and by my sister working for the government, that we didn't have to pay this stimulus check back," said McClain.
And she's right about that.
Accountants say the government has given us an advance on a credit for this year's taxes.
”In a term it could be said it is free money - yes in the sense that it won't come back later to be taxed by the government,” explained Mike Lucas of Patillo Brown & Hill Certified Public Accountants.
Several authoritative sources, like a cable business channel, Newsweek, and Business insider magazine agree - we don't have to pay this money back.
Economist Ray Perryman says with good reason.
"We have to keep the infrastructure of the economy in place, we have to keep individuals viable in order to meet their obligations we have to keep small businesses functional because to have a quick recovery once we solve the health problem we have to have the infrastructure of the economy in place,” he said.
He says, the government giving us money now, just to take it away later, would defeat that purpose
So, spend away Central Texas, but you might want to take some advice from Waco mom, JoAnne Beaty.
"Save it, put it in savings, save it for a "rainier" day," she said.
If you don’t already have a bank account registered with the IRS for the purpose of get your tax refund directly deposited into your account, the IRS will have to send you a paper check in the mail, and that process could take up to 5 months or more.
That is, IF the IRS knows how to find you. If you didn't make enough money to file taxes, you can still get a stimulus check, but you'll have to sign up on the IRS website.