Starting later this month, the number of paper checks being delivered to taxpayers will sharply increase. For many taxpayers, the last chance to obtain a direct deposit of their Economic Impact Payment rather than receive a paper check is coming soon. People should visit Get My Payment on IRS.gov by noon Wednesday, May 13, to check on their payment status and, when available, provide their direct deposit information.
The IRS, working in partnership with Treasury Department and the Bureau of Fiscal Services (BFS), continues to accelerate work to get Economic Impact Payments to even more people as soon as possible. Approximately 130 million individuals have already received payments worth more than $200 billion in the program’s first four weeks.
With a variety of steps underway to speed Economic Impact Payments, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service urged people to use Get My Payment by noon Wednesday, May 13, for a chance to get quicker delivery.
See this handy blog post for tips, tools and resources on IRS Stimulus Payments.
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UPDATE 4/24: Reported by a client — and tested independently: YOU MUST ENTER YOUR EXACT ADDRESS AS IT IS LISTED ON YOUR TAX RETURN TO GET ANY OF THE TOOLS TO WORK. E.g., if your return abbreviates “Drive” as “DR” or “Dr.” or “Drv”… this will make a difference. Be sure to type the address into the tools exactly as it is represented on your most recent tax return.
UPDATE 4/27: When the system asks you to enter your refund from a prior year (to confirm identity), they mean the actual amount disbursed to you — not the amount rolled forward to your quarterly taxes.
UPDATE 4/29: On an NATP webinar today, I learned that there’s no auto-formatting in any of the IRS tools — you must enter dashes in your SSN and slashes when entering dates.
The stimulus checks are on their way, and have already found themselves popping up in bank accounts across the country. Here are a few tools you can use to calculate how much you should expect to receive, and to inform the IRS of your bank account information for direct deposit.
For those who have filed their 2019 taxes, they will be used to determine eligibility. For those who have not filed 2019 returns, their 2018 tax returns will be used. Those who receive Social Security (either retirement or disability) but didn’t file a return in 2018 or 2019 (because they earn too little to be required to file), will also receive stimulus checks, based on the information sent to the IRS on 2019 forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099.
Do not just presume that you aren’t entitled to a payment because you think you made too much money. For one, the stimulus check amount gets phased out over a wide range of income — it’s not like it just cuts off if you made over a certain dollar amount. Secondly, some folks think they made too much because of W-2 or investment income, but various deductible losses actually brought the adjusted gross income (AGI) below the required limit. So go check on it, and update your bank information (below) with the IRS just to be safe.
When Will My Stimulus Check Arrive?
Hopefully it will arrive via direct deposit in the next couple of weeks. But you don’t have to guess — you can look up the status on “Get My Payment“, a new IRS tool which will also allow you to enter direct deposit information if you have not already been getting refunds in that manner. Again, Forbes is doing a great job reporting on this — they actually walk you through the process on the website step-by-step with screenshots. Note: Be sure to type all information, including the address abbreviations, exactly as it is represented on your most recent tax return. Use dashes in your SSN and slashes in your dates.
How Do I Update My Direct Deposit Information with the IRS?
If you’re a regular filer and you simply have been receiving paper checks or rolling your refund forward — and therefore do not have direct deposit information on-file with the IRS — simply use the “Get My Payment” tool I just mentioned above. Here are instructions on how to update your bank information using that tool. Note: Be sure to type all information, including the address abbreviations, exactly as it is represented on your most recent tax return. Use dashes in your SSN and slashes in your dates.
If you haven’t filed a return because you’re below the income limits or you receive veterans benefits, then use the tool the IRS designed specifically so you can get your stimulus check. More info on that tool here, including situations when you should or should not use it. Note: Be sure to type all information, including the address abbreviations, exactly as it is represented on your most recent tax return.
The IRS will either direct deposit your money or send you a check, depending on whether or not your underlying bank information was transmitted to them with your tax return. More info on that here.
What if I Am A Dependent? What If My Kid Lives With Me But Is Not A Dependent?
The first question is easy: dependents aren’t eligible for these payments. Parents get an additional $500 per child instead. Unless (second question)… they’re over 16. Another Forbes article here commiserates with those in this situation.
And you know what they say: don’t spend it all in one place.
If this or any other posts on the website were useful to you, and your financial situation permits it, please consider contributing to my tip jar. This allows me to continue to provide free accounting resources to small businesses who do not have the funds available to hire a CPA.
