The $1,400 stimulus checks are already hitting people’s bank accounts. But some may be in for a longer wait or get less than they should.
The third stimulus check is already hitting some bank accounts, just days after President Joe Biden signed the into law. But while some households will see the funds as early as this week, others may be in for a longer wait. About 85% of people will receive one of the $1,400 checks, Mr. Biden said on March 12. It’s also likely that some of the issues that stymied delivery for some people in the previous two rounds of stimulus could cause a repeat situation the third time. For instance, some people who didn’t have a bank account on file with the IRS during the previous two rounds of checks had to wait several weeks for debit cards or paper checks to reach their homes. It’s most likely that people who have filed their 2020 or 2019 tax returns and have a bank account on file with the tax agency will quickly receive their stimulus checks through direct deposit, based on the prior payment rollouts. That’s because the IRS prioritizes getting the stimulus money out quickly to those it knows it can reach — and it’s a massive effort, given that the tax agency has $422 billion in funds to distribute to more than 100 million taxpayers. About 100 million checks will be issued over the next 10 days, according to IRS and Treasury officials on a Monday conference call. „You don’t need to do anything to get your stimulus check,“ a TurboTax spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch in an email. „The IRS will determine eligibility based on your last tax return (either 2019 or 2020) and will likely send your payment to the bank account where your tax refund was deposited.“ The TurboTax spokesperson added, „If you haven’t filed your 2020 return yet, you can do that now to give your most recent information to the IRS, including bank account or address information to help ensure your stimulus check goes to the right place.“ One financial institution told CBS MoneyWatch it began receiving payments from the IRS for its customers starting around 11 a.m. EST on March 12. The bank, Current, said some accounts had received stimulus payments as high as $9,800. It added it is making all funds fully available by using its balance sheet to credit the funds, rather than waiting for the funds‘ settlement date through the government. Even while some payments landed just one day after the bill was signed, the IRS has until the end of 2021 to distribute the checks, according to the legislation. Here’s what could hold up some people from receiving their money, or receiving the incorrect amount. Many people probably haven’t filed their 2020 tax returns yet, given that the deadline for getting in your tax forms is April 15. In that case, there’s no reason to worry — the IRS will use your 2019 tax return to determine how much you should receive. But this becomes trickier for people who aren’t required to file tax returns, such as those with no or very little earnings, which can be the case for some people on Social Security. That became an issue with the first round of stimulus checks, especially since many of these people were in deepest need of the first round’s $1,200 payments — and it wasn’t an insignificant number.
