There has been a lot of debate over the last few months on if another stimulus check payment will be made in 2022 or even in 2023 as the economy worsens and inflation takes a heavy toll on household budgets.
You can see this article for a more detailed discussion, funding for a 4th stimulus check was not included in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) package.
There is however a chance, if Democrats retain control of the House and Senate after the mid-terms, that other one-time economic assistance or stimulus payments may be made in 2023. This will be particularly the case if the economy worsens, inflations falls to manageable levels and unemployment rises.
I will keep tracking stimulus updates and you can follow us via the options below. Please also review the comments and answers below as well.
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Third Stimulus Check Payment Status Updates
The IRS has started paying the $1400 per adult and $1400 per qualifying dependent (and this time adult dependents are included). Payment for these checks have started being disbursed and it is expected 90% of eligible recipients will get paid by the end of March 2021, according to senior administration officials. See more in the estimated IRS stimulus payment schedule.
IRS Update – March 17, 2021: The IRS have announced that they have sent out approximately 90 million EIP/Stimulus check payments worth $242 billion! Well ahead of schedule. The first batch or tranche of payments were sent by direct deposit based on 2019 or 2020 tax return data, or information the IRS has sourced for non-filers. There were however direct deposit issues with around 150,000 payments which required these payments to be sent by check. The status for these payments is available on the GMP tool.
Payment Issues for certain groups persist
As expected there are many who are seeing issues, especially non-filers, similar to previous rounds of stimulus check payments. Their main IRS stimulus payment status tool, Get My Payment (GMP) has now been updated (as of March 15th), but it has been hard to get real time updates. Especially for those expecting dependent checks, who are seeing ongoing delays with their correct payments (despite getting their own stimulus check). Note however that the IRS is still processing stimulus payments in multiple batches and payments could come separately for adults and dependents.
Given the volume of people checking payment status and details on GMP, there have also been several performance issues with the tool as well. The “please wait” message is what some may be seeing due to this and is a normal part of the site’s operation according to the IRS. Also to prevent bots and people constantly checking for updates (the system is not real time) a limit has been set on the number of times people can access GMP daily. When people reach the maximum number of accesses, Get My Payment will inform them they will need to check back the following day.
Get My Payment Status’ and What it Means
The following status messages will be shown on the GMP tool with regards to your third stimulus check payment. Note that the tool does not show the amount of your stimulus check. You will need to wait for the notice of payment or check your IRS transcript.
Payment Status (Payment Successful) showing a stimulus payment has been processed, a payment date is available and payment is to be sent either by direct deposit or mail (EIP Card or a check). Or if the IRS has confirmed your eligibility but still processing your payment in an upcoming batch you will see the following message, “You’re eligible, but a payment has not been processed and a payment date is not yet available.”
Payment Status Not Available: You will see this if the IRS haven’t yet processed your payment or you’re not eligible for a payment. You will just need to be patient to see which is the outcome, but see the above links to ensure you are eligible for the third payment which had lower income thresholds to get any part of the stimulus check.
Need More Information: Your payment was returned to the IRS because if was undeliverable by mail or direct deposit. Only people who get this message can use the IRS tool to provide updated bank account information.
Update with Second Stimulus Check Payment Status
The IRS has started paying the recently approved $600/$1200 stimulus check (recovery rebate) for adults and their child dependents. As expected there are many who are seeing issues, especially non-filers. Their main IRS stimulus payment status tool, Get My Payment (GMP) for checking stimulus payments has now been updated (as of January 5th), but has been hard to to get real time updates and many are especially those expecting dependent checks are seeing ongoing delays with their payment. Note however that the official IRS is still processing stimulus payments and could come separately for adults and dependents.
Missing Payment Status means no automatic stimulus
According to the IRS, if the GMP reflects a direct deposit date and partial account information, then your payment has been sent via direct deposit. If you see a mailing date, that’s when a check or debit card was sent and could take 3 to 4 weeks to get to you. However if you get the status of “Payment Status #2 – Not Available” on the Get My Payment (GMP) stimulus tracker tool, it means you won’t be getting the second stimulus check automatically sent to you. Instead you would have to claim in your 2020 tax return filing and claim it is a recovery rebate credit. There is no second round of automatic payments for this status.
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IRS Non-Filer Tool Closed for Updates
While the IRS is using 2019 tax returns for payment of the second stimulus check (or economic impact payment 2)., payments are also automatic for those who don’t file a tax return and who successfully registered for the first payment online agency’s Non-Filers tool by November 21, 2020 or who had submitted a simplified 2019 tax return that has been processed by the IRS. This includes Social Security retirement and disability beneficiaries, railroad retirees and those getting veterans’ benefits.
While the IRS had setup a non-filers tool for the first stimulus payment, this time around they are not doing that and will use information from the first stimulus check payments or work directly with the relevant federal agencies to obtain the information needed to send out the new payments. The IRS has confirmed that the non-filer tool is closed for updates and encouraging you to claim the missing stimulus (known as a recovery rebate credit in tax terms) by filing a 2020 1040 or 1040-SR tax return. Free tax software programs can be used by people who are not normally required to file tax returns but are eligible to claim the credit.
For those who don’t receive a direct deposit by early January, they should watch their mail for either a paper check or a debit card. Otherwise, people who didn’t receive a payment for any reason can file a 2020 tax return.
[Update August 2020] The IRS has announced it will reopen the registration period – starting Aug. 15 through Sept. 30 – for eligible non-filing federal beneficiaries (e.g. SSDI, Retirees and SSI recipients) who eligible for the $500 per child payments. Those who file (via the IRS Non-filer tool) and are deemed eligible should start seeing their payments by Mid-October.
For those Social Security, SSI, Department of Veterans Affairs and Railroad Retirement Board beneficiaries who have already used the Non-Filers tool to provide information on children, no further action is needed. The IRS will automatically make a payment in October.
The IRS has finally gotten its Stimulus Check Status Tool (Get My Payment) up and running. This is in addition to the other tool that was setup a few days earlier – Enter Payment Info – for those who are not required to file U.S. income taxes, but want to update their direct deposit information in order to get their stimulus checks. You can see who is eligible for the 2020 stimulus check payments here. Most tax payers will receive their stimulus check or Economic Stimulus Payment as the IRS calls it automatically based on on their 2019 (2018 if that is the last filed one) tax return. However to check status and/or update payment details you will need to use one of these tools. Provided below is a summary of the tools and what you need to use these.
Note – As of April 22nd the IRS is about half way through processing stimulus check payments (~65 million recipients). They have announced additional rounds of payments via direct deposit and paper checks each week. The first round went to people the IRS already had direct deposit information on file for, from their 2018 or 2019 tax returns. The next round will be sent to those who recently provided the IRS with their direct deposit information. Subsequent rounds will go to late filers, retiree, veteran and SSI groups and then to people who had complications or required further reviews of their eligibility.
Get My Payment (GMP) – Stimulus Check Status Checker
This tool which was recently stood up and has some bugs as expected is processing queries very slowly as millions are anxiously checking their stimulus payment status (some multiple times a day). In fact the IRS has acknowledged issues whereby the GMP tool is giving many an incorrect message that their payment status is not available. But this is just the default error message due to system unavailability and not because the persons data is not there or payment hasn’t been sent. This is being fixed and the IRS has said to be patient and check back later.
[GMP updates] The IRS has recently provided the following updates to this tool to help track the status of your stimulus check and address the many issues current and potential recipients were facing
Scheduled delivery date by direct deposit or mail now available and will also include last four digits of the bank account being used if the IRS has direct deposit information. You wi need to provide your SSN, DOB and mailing address used on your latest tax return
Taxpayers needing to add their bank account information to speed receipt of their payment will also need to provide the following additional information: Adjusted Gross Income and Refund or amount owed from their latest filed tax return, Bank account type, account and routing numbers
Reminder – Get My Payment cannot update bank account information after an Economic Impact Payment has been scheduled for delivery. To help protect against potential fraud, the tool also does not allow people to change bank account information already on file with the IRS.
You will need to validate your identity and address when you log into the portal so have your 2018 or 2019 tax return (latest filed) handy.
Get My Payment (IRS Stimulus Check Status Checker)
Payment Status Not Available Error
You may see the “status not available error” for the following reasons per the IRS:
- If you are not eligible for a payment per stimulus check rules.
- If you are required to file a tax return and have not filed in tax year 2018 or 2019.
- If you recently filed your return or provided information through Non-Filers: Enter Your Payment Info (see following section). Your payment status in this case will be updated when processing is completed.
- If you are a SSA or RRB Form 1099 recipient, SSI or VA benefit recipient. Your status is not available because the IRS is working with the SSA and VA to issue your payment.
- Your refund is being processed and no additional updates are available. The Get My Payment data is updated once per day, so there’s no need to check back more frequently.
Payment Information Portal (update Direct Deposit Information)
This is applicable to those lower income US citizens or permanent residents (and some longer term visa holders with a SSN) that do not file a tax return and had income that did not exceed $12,200 ($24,400 for married couples) for 2019. Your income for this year is not what should be used. Those who filed a 2019 or 2018 tax return which would have included payment details (for refund or taxes due) should NOT use this portal. Further Social Security and disability recipients shouldn’t use this portal as IRS will automatically sent them payments based on SSA data.
Have the following information ready to use the Payment Information Portal
The IRS will use this information to determine eligibility and payment amount and send you your stimulus check (economic impact payment. After providing this information you won’t need to take any additional action.
- Full name, current mailing address and email address
- Date of birth and valid Social Security number (SSN)
- Bank account number, type and routing number, if you have one
- Driver’s license or state-issued ID, if you have one
- For each qualifying child: name, Social Security number or Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number and their relationship to you or your spouse
Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here (IRS Website)
Note – The links to the tools above will take you to the IRS portal (you can validate via IRS.gov), but please avoid many scams trying to get this personal information from you. You should only be providing this via the official IRS portal.
How long are the Stimulus Check Payments available?
Stimulus check economic impact payments will be available throughout the rest of 2020, so you have time to update your Direct Deposit details until then.
Can I Call the IRS to get more information?
The IRS have clearly stated on their website that people should NOT call about this payment since they are over 100 million people eligible to get this payment so processing times are long and with millions of tax refunds to process the IRS is not taking calls on this payment. I can say from personal experience and from the many comments I have received that calling the IRS stage at this point on this topic is pointless. But I can try and answer your questions based on the information I have. Just leave a comment and subscribe to get the latest update.
