IRS now sending stimulus checks to banks and in the mail: When your $1,400 payment could arrive

If you have your direct deposit banking information set up with the IRS, you may have already received your third stimulus check. The $1,400 checks have now gone out to 90 million people, the US Treasury and IRS reported on Wednesday. And if you’re expecting your payment to arrive by mail, you could get one of the roughly 150,000 paper checks the Treasury and IRS mailed out that could arrive by Friday.

The goal is to send 100 million more checks in the next 10 days, President Joe Biden said on Monday. If you want to know the status of your payment, use the IRS stimulus check tracker tool — it’s officially live and can give you the details on where your payment is, but note that the information it provides is sometimes confusing. It also can’t tell you the exact date your check will arrive in the mail or how much you will receive — our stimulus check calculator can help provide those details and give you an idea of how much you should expect.

The first wave was mainly sent out to bank accounts and is aimed directly at qualified recipients who already have their direct deposit information on file with the IRS, and it will take weeks or months to finish processing every payment. The IRS is also dealing with this year’s tax season, adding an extra burden on the agency. With tax returns likely getting pushed back to mid-May, the IRS will have to process new payments using either 2019 or 2020 taxes (here’s why it matters). Your payment group and personal circumstances are also important in determining if you’ll get paid first or last. This story was recently updated.

When will I actually get my third stimulus payment?

Starting last Friday, the IRS and the US Treasury began making electronic transfers to bank accounts. Those first direct deposit payments to bank accounts may have been marked as pending or provisional, but you should have access to the money now, as the IRS said the official payment date is March 17.

In addition, the Treasury said it has sent 150,000 paper checks out, worth approximately $442 million.

Some on the r/stimuluscheck Reddit forum are reporting they’ve received word from their banks that checks could arrive by May 19 and that the IRS could start showing payment status as soon as this week on its Get My Payment tracker for a mailed physical check or EIP card.

The Treasury said additional batches and payments will be sent in the coming weeks by direct deposit and through the mail as a check or debit card. It could still take days or weeks for a payment to be processed and scheduled before it actually appears on your doorstep. Any additional complications could also delay your payment. If you moved recently, tell the IRS and USPS.

Stimulus check delivery dates (semi-final)

Stimulus bill passed Congress	March 10
Stimulus bill signed into law	March 11
First direct deposit sent	March 12 (pending), March 17 (official)
First paper checks sent	Week of May 15
First EIP cards sent	Week of March 22 possible
IRS deadline to finish sending checks	Dec. 31, 2021 (mandated by the bill)
Last date to receive a check	January 2022 (if checks sent late December)
Claims for missing stimulus money open	2021 tax season likely (in 2022)

Can I track my payment status online right now?

Yes. The IRS has turned on Get My Payment, its online tracker tool for stimulus checks. This tool shows you the status of your payment, such as when a check is scheduled for delivery. The portal can also flag if there’s a problem with your payment that you may need to address.

How will my group affect my payment delivery date?

The IRS identifies three payment groups based on how your money is sent:

• Direct-deposit recipients: Typically got their stimulus money in the first wave. But both times there were issues involving deposits going to temporary accounts that were rejected by banks. In some cases, these people got paper checks or EIP cards instead, or had to wait for the issue to resolve.
• Paper checks: This is the payment type the IRS sent out second. A physical check can take weeks to arrive by mail, but the check can be deposited or cashed right away once it arrives.
• EIP cards: This payment type arrives as a prepaid debit card you must activate online to use. The IRS issued EIP cards last, delaying the payment’s arrival for this recipient group by weeks.

Remember, it takes time for the IRS to process the well over 100 million payments expected in this third round of checks. Even tiny errors could cause a delay in you receiving your full or partial payment. (Here’s more information for SSDI and SSI recipients, and other nonfilers.)

What to know about changing your priority group

Just because you got your payment by direct deposit the first two times doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get it that way again. A lot depends on delivery going smoothly, and on any processing issues the IRS or Treasury could encounter with your case.

The IRS told CNET in January that some people who received their first stimulus payment as a physical check or EIP card may have been paid by the other method the second time around. And, anecdotally, we learned of people who received direct deposit payments the first time finally getting an EIP card in the mail — and not an electronic bank transfer — weeks after the IRS tool said the payment was issued. 

The other payment groups we’ve loosely defined include Social Security beneficiaries who received payments a different way the first time if they’re part of the SSI or SSDI programs, and people with more complex scenarios that could lead to potential issues or holdups receiving their money. People in different child support situations are one example we’ve seen, as are people who are incarcerated and people with complex citizenship scenarios.

When is the IRS deadline to stop sending new stimulus checks?

Although the IRS and Treasury are acting fast to send stimulus checks, the agencies have until Dec. 31 to complete sending out the third payments. That’s good news in the sense that they aren’t facing a compressed deadline to send out all the checks. On the other hand, it also means some people may find themselves waiting, for a variety of reasons. There’s still so much we don’t know about how the IRS will deal with any fringe issues that arise. 

Will the IRS use my 2019 or 2020 tax return to determine my payment amount?

Taxes are currently due April 15, although the IRS plans to change the due date to mid-May (no date has been confirmed). So how will the IRS figure out how much it owes you? It will calculate your total (you can also do that here) based on the most recent tax filing it’s processed by the time it’s ready to tabulate your check.

If you filed your 2020 taxes early and you know your tax return was already processed, your total would likely be on 2020’s adjusted gross income, not 2020’s, as intended. That presents complications if the difference between the two years disqualifies you from getting a third stimulus check. (Learn more about some of the stimulus check exceptions and catches here.)

If I get a partial check, when can I claim the rest of my money?

There are several reasons the IRS could owe you stimulus money for the third round of checks. Maybe the agency processed your 2019 tax return instead of 2020 and there was a discrepancy. Or you had a baby in 2020 you still need to claim as a dependent. Or a clerical error accidentally left out a new dependent. Maybe your payment never arrived or was accidentally garnished. 

Whatever the reason, the IRS may provide a way to file for missing stimulus money before the Dec. 31 deadline. If not, you might have to wait a year to claim it, until you file your 2021 taxes in 2022 (even if you’re a nonfiler who isn’t typically required to file taxes).

What other stimulus check details should I know right now?

Stimulus checks aren’t necessarily a one-size-fits-all situation. Here are additional guides for:

Here’s everything you need to know about the third stimulus check, how to calculate your stimulus total and every other way the stimulus bill can bring you more money.

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