As lawmakers debate whether there should be a second round of stimulus payments—or even ongoing rounds until the coronavirus crisis is over—many Americans still have not received their first check.
What’s taking so long?
Even though it’s been weeks since the stimulus payments first began to appear in taxpayers’ accounts via direct deposit, the IRS has a limited capacity for sending physical checks out in the mail. The most it can send out in a week is about 5 million, according to some estimates. (If you’re expecting yours in the mail, here’s the extended timeline.) According to the latest update from the IRS, about 130 million individuals have received a payment so far.
If you’re not one of them, and if you’ve decided that you’re tired of waiting for your check to come in the mail, you may have one last chance to have your payment deposited directly into your bank account—but you have to act fast.
The IRS says it will begin seriously increasing the number of checks it sends in the mail beginning later this month. It’s asking taxpayers who want to use direct deposit to visit its “Get My Payment” portal by noon on Wednesday, May 13 (no time zone is specified).
“We want people to visit Get My Payment before the noon Wednesday deadline so they can provide their direct deposit information,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement. “Time is running out for a chance to get these payments several weeks earlier through direct deposit.”
With Get My Payment, you can hopefully add your bank info, although the glitch-prone tool has not worked the way it’s supposed to for everyone. Just remember, you may need your 2019 or 2018 tax information to proceed. (The portal for non-filers is also still open.) If you’ve tried using this tool before but were unsuccessful, it’s worth trying again. The IRS said last month that it had updated the portal and worked out a few kinks.
What happens if I miss the deadline?
According to the IRS, they will ramp up paper checks after that date, and those checks will begin arriving in the mail later this month and into June. Check out the full update here, and good luck!
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