Third stimulus checks are coming in days. Can you sign up for direct deposit?

Now that the third stimulus check and $1.9 trillion stimulus bill are official, the IRS now has the green light to start sending the new $1,400 stimulus checks as soon as this weekend (calculate your payment total now). “People can start seeing direct deposits hit their bank accounts as early as this weekend,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday, adding that “this is of course just the first wave.”

There’s a lot we still don’t know about how the IRS will handle this third payment round, including when you’ll be able to track your payment and if you’ll be able to set up direct deposit with the IRS, if the agency doesn’t already have your banking information. With the first two rounds of payments, the IRS and US Treasury prioritized payments to people with direct deposit information on file.

For the first check, the IRS let those who qualified for a payment provide banking information through an online IRS tool. That portal never opened with the second check, which gave the IRS only a little over two weeks to send over 100 million payments. With the third stimulus check starting to arrive this weekend, here’s what to know about direct deposit payments.

Will the IRS let me set up direct deposit for the the third payment?

You can already register your bank account for direct deposit when you submit taxes, but if you just recently signed up and the IRS doesn’t use your 2020 tax return as the basis of your third check, it isn’t clear if it will use your account or not. 

For both the first and second checks, the IRS created an online Get My Payment tool to let those who were eligible provide banking information to receive their payments straight to their bank accounts. The IRS shut down the direct deposit registration feature on May 15, 2020 and didn’t turn it back on for the second checks, when the IRS had just over two weeks to complete making payments. 

It isn’t clear when and if the IRS will turn the tool back on this time around, but the agency has until Dec. 31, 2021 to send the payments, so there’s no time crunch this round.

The new bill tasks the IRS and US Treasury with sending the new checks out “electronically” as appropriate, but as of Thursday, the IRS said it is “reviewing implementation plans” and will have more information shortly. Short of guidance from the IRS, we don’t know if the IRS will let those who qualify for a payment either set up direct deposit with the agency or change out-of-date banking details.

Why would I want to use direct deposit for my stimulus check money?

Over 75% with the first round and more than 80% with the second payments were distributed through direct deposit. During the first stimulus check round, the IRS encouraged people who didn’t have direct deposit on file with the agency to sign up for direct deposit anyway. The agency said these people could still receive their checks faster even if they signed up “late” compared to waiting for a mailed check.

What information would the IRS need to set up a new direct deposit account?

If the IRS does accept new banking information for the third check through its Get My Payment tool, you’ll want to have on hand your bank account type and routing and account numbers. You have several ways to find this banking information.

Banking website: Your bank’s website may show your routing and account numbers. Log in to the account you want to use and look around for the numbers you need.

Banking app: If your bank has an app, it may show you your account and routing numbers. In the app, tap the account you want to use to see the account and routing numbers.

Printed check: At the bottom of your check you most likely will see three sets of numbers: The first set of nine numbers is your routing number. The second set of 8 to 12 numbers is your account number. The third set is the one you don’t need for direct deposit, as it’s the number of the individual check.

Check this IRS page for more help with locating your routing and account numbers.

Am I guaranteed to get my stimulus check as a direct deposit?

If you already have direct deposit set up with the IRS, the agency said it will use that information to make your payment. For the first and second checks, however, some reported receiving their payments in the mail, either as a paper check or EIP card through the mail, even if the IRS did have their bank details. The vast majority of the first and second payments did go out via electronic transfer.

If you needed any motivation to send in your tax returns early, the IRS said it will use the most recent federal tax forms it’s processed when computing your third payment. If you’ve included your banking information when you filed, the IRS may use that when sending your payment. It’s a gamble that the IRS will process your new filing by the time it gets to your name, but that’s still a possibility.

What if there’s a problem with direct deposit?

This could happen. With the earlier payments, the IRS experienced problems sending stimulus payments for millions of people who use tax preparation software like TurboTax and Jackson Hewitt. Now that the IRS is sending the third checks in the middle of tax season, this could become an issue again.

How would the IRS would have gotten my banking details for the third check?

The IRS has several ways to find your banking information.

• You filed a tax return in 2019 or 2020 and received a refund by direct deposit.
• You already filed your tax forms this year and provided the IRS with your banking information.
• You registered your banking information for the first check through the IRS’ Get My Payment online tool.
• You provided bank information through the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool if you don’t typically file taxes.
• From another federal agency who issues benefits to you, such as Social Security Administration, Veteran Affairs or Railroad Retirement Board.

What happens if my banking details have changed for direct deposit?

With the first stimulus checks, you could use the Get My Payment and Non-Filers tools to provide the IRS with your banking information. The IRS had said, however, it does not allow people to change the direct deposit information for a stimulus payment it has on file. This is a safeguard against fraud. 

With the second checks, the IRS did not accepting new or changed banking information. If the IRS attempts to make a payment to now-closed bank account, the financial institution must return the payment to the IRS, the agency said. The agency has not said how it will handle banking changes with the third check.

If you’ve moved, you can provide the IRS with your new mailing address.

Do I need to have a bank account to get my check by direct deposit?

According to the Urban Institute, people with bank accounts and direct deposit (who are disproportionately white) were more likely to get their first stimulus check by the end of May than people who identify as Black, Hispanic or were below the poverty line. This was directly tied to groups who were more likely to have banking accounts and who filed that information with the IRS to facilitate direct deposit tax returns.

Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and several other large banks now offer more affordable checkless bank accounts as part of a program to make it easier for people to get bank accounts. 

For more on the checks, here’s when the IRS will start sending the third checks, how much you could qualify for with this payment and how to track your payment with the IRS.

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