'Holiday stimulus payments' for all residents of certain states aren't real | Fact check
The claim: 'Holiday stimulus payout' available to residents of some states due to Affordable Care Act amendment
A Dec. 18 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be a news broadcast about a new stimulus program supposedly available to some Americans.
"All Texas state residents are now eligible for a $3,721 holiday stimulus payout because of a new amendment to the Affordable Care Act," the video's narrator says.
The post was liked more than 300 times in a week.
Other posts make similar claims for other states involving different dollar amounts.
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Our rating: False
There is no "holiday stimulus payout" associated with a recent Affordable Care Act amendment. The post links to a website unaffiliated with the government.
No 'holiday stimulus payout' for all residents of Texas
There is no evidence of a "holiday stimulus payout" associated with an amendment to the Affordable Care Act and available to "all residents" of Texas and other states.
Such a payment is not mentioned in any IRS, Department of Treasury or HealthCare.gov press releases. Nor was it mentioned in press releases from the Office of the Texas Governor or the state comptroller's office.
There is also no evidence of an amendment to the Affordable Care Act that resulted in stimulus payments on GovTrack.us or in reputable news reports.
The website linked in the post where users are directed to "sign up" is unaffiliated with the state or federal government.
Fact check: Video falsely claims $1,000 stimulus approved for ‘every U.S. resident’
On Dec. 20, the IRS did issue a press release announcing that around a million taxpayers who did not claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit would receive a direct payment from the agency. The maximum payment is $1,400 − less than the amount promised in the Facebook post.
Taxpayers were eligible to claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit if they had not received one or more of their pandemic-related Economic Impact Payments − often called stimulus payments, according to the press release. The agency said most eligible taxpayers have already claimed the credit or received their Economic Impact Payments.
The IRS declined to comment on the record.
The US. Department of Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Facebook user who shared the post could not be reached.
PolitiFact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources
- IRS, accessed Dec. 24, News releases for current month
- IRS, Dec. 20, IRS announces special payments going this month to 1 million taxpayers who did not claim 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit; encourages non-filers about approaching deadline to claim credits
- U.S. Department of Treasury, accessed Dec. 24, Press releases
- Office of the Texas Governor, accessed Dec. 24, Press releases
- Texas Comptroller, accessed Dec. 24, News releases
- GovTrack.us, accessed Dec. 24, "Stimulus" search
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