Brazil Tax on Stimulus Check

Good morning, afternoon or evening everyone!

Devorah here to help again! So, as I have been living here for the past 10 years, I have been filing my taxes through an American accountant in the US. The guy´s name is Michael Tanksley from Texas.. I found him online.

Anywho, during the Trump Administration Mike said that I was eligable for the two Trump stimulus checks which I received from the United States HERE in Brazil VIA snail mail. I received the two checks almost a year apart MONTHS after the Americans had already received theirs. I tried calling the IRS at one point to check up on my status because the checks were SO late arriving BUT the reality is nobody really cares about expats in the IRS department as we are NOT a priority. We live outside the US and so therefore... we are on a backburner.

You DO NOT have to pay taxes HERE in Brazil on your stimulus check to the federal or state government BUT, BUT, you Do have to pay heavy taxes to the bank if you go through a Brazilian bank to deposit the check. They will NAIL you with off the wall fees and your check will take over a month to clear ( Brazil is just like this.. no explanation.. Welcome to Brazil everyone). SO the BEST option is for you to go to a place called Confidence Cambio.. there are lots spread out around Brazil. Go on line and you can see where they are located. It is a trustworthy outfit that I use all the time. When I go to Confidence Cambio, I take my RNE and I have no problems cashing the check ( similar to 7-11 they take a small percentage for themselves but you get the money right up front in cash) or take your American passport with valid visa information and all that good stuff AND your NAME on the passport must be identical to your name on the check or forget about cashing it. So in that respect you should have no problems.

The Joe Biden 600 dollar Stimulus check... well, I never received that one. I talked to Mike about it.. he said I should have received it.. we even declared it on my tax form from October 2021 but... hey like I said Expats are NOT a US priority. We left the US remember?

Hope I helped you all.

God bless.

Devorah

Languages4Brazilians.

By the way... I am looking for native English teachers who want to work online. If interested, please let me know.

I'm sure that this is true.   However, my US bank's phone app allows in-app check deposits by just taking a picture of the front and back of the check.  I received one paper check through the mail, and was able to deposit it that way from Brazil with no trouble -- and of course, no fees.  So check to see whether your app has that capability before going through a third party service.

There is an IRS office dedicated to taxpayers overseas.

If you have a no or low fee phone service to call a US landline, the # is (267) 941 1000.

International Taxpayer Call Center. Opens at 6 AM Eastern time. If you call in the middle of the day, you likely won't reach an agent and be told to call back. The agents range from kind of helpful to very helpful. Persistence is the word but they can help with Economic Impact Payments. You must push the prompt that you are an individual or business located overseas, otherwise you will be immediately disconnected. Have your recent tax returns ready to answer ID questions. More info- irs.gov and search for ‘International'.

Good luck

Hey there,

Good morning. Well yes, what you said makes sense. I do not have a bank account in the US as I´ve been here for over 10 years and have broken all my ties with the US. So for folks like myself, it´s a little bit different. It would be easier of course if there was an American bank account involved.

Have a great day,

Devorah

Languages4Brazilians

Just for as long as you avoid a direct transfer of funds from the US to Brazil, the right answer it is not subject to taxation.