Is my stimulus payment protected if I filed an injured spouse claim?
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Note: This question is specifically related to the first Economic Impact Payment from the CARES Act. For EIP3, which was sent in 2021, you can check the status of your payment by using the IRS Online Account.
I filed an injured spouse claim on my taxes but our entire stimulus payment was garnished because my spouse owed back child support. I thought my portion of the stimulus was protected since I filed as injured spouse?
If you filed a Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation in 2019 (or 2018, whichever was most recently filed), the IRS sent your portion of the CARES Act stimulus payment in late August, 2020. No action was needed to claim it.
If you didn’t file a Form 8379 and had your half of the stimulus payment garnished, you don’t have to file a Form 8379 or take any other action. The IRS should have automatically delivered your portion at a later date.
