Cashing a US stimulus check in Germany

SimCityAT wrote:

Tom, You also got a check?

Yes, I did.

Bhejl wrote:

Quick side question if you don't mind... I've received a letter from "the White House" telling me am am receiving $1200 by check or debit card, but there was nothing else in the envelope. Tom and others who have received their money - did the letter and the check/debit card come together or separately? This letter came 10 days ago while I was away.
Thanks!

Letter and check were separate. But I actually got the check first. Just today my check arrived back in America where I sent it for deposit. Took one month by registered mail. Mail and package deliveries seem to be running normally within Germany but America is so screwed up it is taking a month.

John Davis25 wrote:

Germany like the majority of the world except for Eritrea and the USA. Their is no requirement to disclose a US check as income

This is patently untrue: Germany taxes all income of its residents, no matter where it accrues.
The question here is if such payments are counted as taxable income or not. This is beyond my personal knowledge - and you are probably well advised to ask a professional tax consultant to get a definitive answer.
(The difference to USA and Eritrea, in tax matters, is that Germany does NOT tax non-residents.)

John Davis25 wrote:

Germany like the majority of the world except for Eritrea and the USA. Their is no requirement to disclose a US check as income

This is falsely conflating different issues. The USA and Eritrea are the only countries that tax their citizens abroad. But all countries will basically tax people residing there on their world wide income. Thus US generated income usually has to be reported for German taxes if one is residing here in Germany.

And the US tax authorities have declared that the stimulus checks will NOT be treated as taxable income in the US.

How Germany will treat them is another question to which I don't have a definite answer. I know that various Corona assistance in Germany is indeed seen as taxable income but exempt from VAT. Unless I get a more definite answer I will likely personally declare my US stimulus money as income on my German returns since my income during this time is below the level to owe any tax regardless. For someone in a higher tax bracket, it might be different. And it could be decided that this US money is tax free in the end. The US treats it as a return of taxes rather than income - even if one has no tax obligation.

I don't want to suggest that one should fail to report it if it indeed gets rules to be considered income but the amounts are low and it is highly unlikely the German Tax authorities have the resources or will to investigate whether one got such checks or not - especially if they were deposited in a US rather than German bank.

TominStuttgart wrote:

John Davis25 wrote:

Germany like the majority of the world except for Eritrea and the USA. Their is no requirement to disclose a US check as income

This is falsely conflating different issues. The USA and Eritrea are the only countries that tax their citizens abroad. But all countries will basically tax people residing there on their world wide income. Thus US generated income usually has to be reported for German taxes if one is residing here in Germany.

And the US tax authorities have declared that the stimulus checks will NOT be treated as taxable income in the US.

How Germany will treat them is another question to which I don't have a definite answer. I know that various Corona assistance in Germany is indeed seen as taxable income but exempt from VAT. Unless I get a more definite answer I will likely personally declare my US stimulus money as income on my German returns since my income during this time is below the level to owe any tax regardless. For someone in a higher tax bracket, it might be different. And it could be decided that this US money is tax free in the end. The US treats it as a return of taxes rather than income - even if one has no tax obligation.

I don't want to suggest that one should fail to report it if it indeed gets rules to be considered income but the amounts are low and it is highly unlikely the German Tax authorities have the resources or will to investigate whether one got such checks or not - especially if they were deposited in a US rather than German bank.

Thanks for explaining your approach. Mine was deposited in a German Bank so actually easily traceable. I will also ask to a tax advisor.

Martin1945 wrote:

Can I give any US bank here in Germany a stimulus check from the US Treasury Department and receive the money immediately in cash at the counter?

The only US bank I have seen in Germany is JPMorgan Chase but they seem to only have a branch in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt and Stuttgart; so they are few and far between.

I am posting a link to a site that shows a Frankfurt headquarters for a handful of others but whether they have any branch offices or even deal with non-business clients in retail banking is not mentioned.

But even if one would find such a bank, one will have to be a client and wait for the check to clear, which is no different than for most German banks. Expecting otherwise is wishful thinking. And who knows if they will charge any less fees?

In response to Beppi's comment about the poster's profile showing them to be German; they could be one of us dual German/American citizens.

https://www.selectusa.gov/article?id=Germany-US-Banks

Martin1945 wrote:

Hallo beppi,
It is correct, I am a German citizen. I worked in USA for a couple of years and I also receive a small pension for it.

Interesting. The determination if one gets what they call a stimulus check is if one files US federal income tax returns. So not only US citizens but also working foreign residents of America should qualify – yet Americans abroad who fail to file won’t. But if a German worked in America, returns to Germany and gives up their US residency then they usually would not have an obligation to file US taxes.

But I assume in this case the pension is seen as normal taxable income and means a requirement for a foreigner not even living in America to file. This sounds like a pain so I am surprised a foreigner would comply. Statistics claim that around 90% of American expats don’t actually file although most of them are obliged. But not only can this lead to further troubles especially if they ever return to live in the States but also should disqualify them from getting the stimulus checks.

Martin1945 wrote:

Hi,
Yesterday I was at the Postbank to credit the stimulus check to my checking account at the Postbank.
They don’t accept them anymore a foreign check. When I asked what I can do with the check, he replied, "I have to offer the issuer the check to transfer the money directly to my Postbank account!" Now, I'm stupid with the check in my pocket!
Any advice on how to get the money. I don’t own a US bank account...
Thanks

The stimulus money comes over the IRS (tax authority). For many if not most normal filers of tax returns they have their bank information already and transfer the money. I file my annual returns but never have a tax obligation so have never had to give them my bank details and thus they automatically mailed me a check.

Theoretically, if you sent the check back and gave them the information then they could do a transfer. The problem is that it is VERY difficult to communicate with the IRS. I wanted to know if I was actually eligible after the first checks were being issued and I had not got one yet. I even inquired by a family member in the States who is a tax accountant. The answer is that they have the bank info and automatically do a transfer - or send a check; there was no absolutely way to communicate with them about the subject.

So the question would be to which address one would send the check to and to communicate their wish to have it done by bank transfer? Possibly one can send an email as a general inquiry but who knows if one gets an answer.

beppi wrote:

Wait: Isn't this amount paid by the USA government to stimulate the USA economy? In that case it even makes sense to pay it using a method that cannot be cashed out elsewhere (and potentially benefit other economies)!

That is the theory but it is also to assist Americans, so the requirement is only that one legally files their US taxes and not where they live. One can also easily argue that Americans living abroad should not be burdened to file taxes returns to America; so they should at least get some benefit for honestly doing so.

And the latest check is part of what is called "the American Rescue Plan" - rather than a stimulus per se. The stated focus is to help Americans economically and to fund the Covid vaccination program.

Andrea Hunt wrote:

So there are a couple of different ways you can do it. Do you still have a US bank account? I used my First American app. the other thing you could try is Paypal if you still have a US account. Maybe TRANSFERWISE?
https://wise.com/us/blog/coronavirus-re … s-get-paid

Also, I found this:
https://www.democratsabroad.org/how_to_cash_a_us_checkhttps://www.taxesforexpats.com/articles … broad.html

hope that helps!

Martin 1945 already mentioned that he has no US account. And Transferwise is just one of many money transfer companies. But I don't think they cash checks.