How soon could the next stimulus check arrive? Here are some possible IRS payment dates

When would you get the the second stimulus check and how much of the proposed $1,200 would you qualify for? Until Washington lawmakers can agree on the terms of the next stimulus package, the schedule for sending another round of direct payments is in flux. The IRS can’t act to coordinate another direct deposit transfer or mailing schedule until after a bill is signed into law.

As of Friday, an agreement was still far off when Congress adjourned for the weekend. “We anticipate that we will have a bill, but we’re not there yet,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday.

It isn’t clear how long the already-heated negotiations will take. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell set an initial deadline of Aug. 7, the last day before another scheduled monthlong Senatorial break, to reach an agreement. But the start of the break could be postponed.

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“There is no point to considering going home at the end of next week unless we have solved this problem,” said Sen. Dick Durbin.

Below, we’ve sketched out a potential schedule for when the next stimulus payment could be sent. How quickly an agreement is reached could either slow down or expedite the process. We update this story often.

When the next IRS stimulus checks could go out

The Senate’s last day in session before its August recess is Aug. 7, which means Congress has to agree on a final stimulus bill before then if it keeps to its planned schedule (which could change). After that, senators return to their home states until the session picks up again Sept. 8.

We don’t know how long it’ll take from the time the bill is signed into law to the time the IRS sends checks, but we can glean hints based on the first CARES Act’s journey through the final approval process.

How could the new stimulus check arrive quicker than last time?

On Monday, Sen. Chuck Grassley said the HEALS Act will follow the stimulus check model of the CARES Act.

“The Republican plan provides for another round of $1,200 of economic impact payments for most American adults,” he said. “We are going to continue the economic impact payments that were made in April and May.” 

Here’s how that could get you a check sooner:

• HEALS Act guidelines are mostly the same as those of the original CARES Act, which allows the IRS to follow its previous model.
• The IRS already built its Get My Payment tool for the dual purposes of tracking your stimulus check payment and signing up for direct deposit. 
• Implementing this tool — and working out glitches — for the first round of checks took time that the IRS is unlikely to need to process a second check.

What could delay the IRS sending the next stimulus payments? 

If Congress and President Donald Trump can’t agree on the provisions in the new stimulus bill and miss the Aug. 7 deadline, it would be another month before the next session starts and the Senate and the House can reconvene and propose, debate and pass the bill, unless the House and Senate delay the start of their August recess. 

Both chambers of Congress and the president appear motivated to pass the bill before Aug. 7.

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When’s the last date I could get the new stimulus check?

Once again, the schedule for the first stimulus checks can provide a potential roadmap, though there’s no official news until another rescue package is finalized.

The IRS will have sent about 200 million checks by the time it’s done distributing the first raft of payments. (The total US population is nearly 330 million people, according to the Census Bureau.) 

The majority of those were sent by the beginning of June, though the IRS said it will continue to disburse the final batches through the end of the year. If there are fewer people receiving a second stimulus check, it’s possible that it won’t take as long to send a second round of payments.

Would this be the final stimulus check?

In May, McConnell said that this next coronavirus relief bill will also be the last. The course of COVID-19 infections will certainly play a role in future debates over the best way to strengthen the economy. Coronavirus infections began surging in June, with record numbers of infections rising in July.

However, the White House might try to squeeze in one more stimulus check before November. “There is likely going to be another round of stimulus come the fall,” said Kevin Cirilli, Bloomberg News’ lead Washington correspondent, on Monday. “The president sees this [current HEALS Act stimulus package] as not his last economic pitch ahead of the election.”

How can you get more help?

If you’re still waiting on the first round of coronavirus payments, you can track the status of your stimulus check, learn how to report your no-show check to the IRS and find possible reasons why your stimulus check still hasn’t arrived.

Here are even more resources about coronavirus hardship loans and unemployment insurance, what you can do if you’ve lost your job, what to know about evictions and late car payments, if you could receive two refund checks from the IRS and how to take control of your budget.