The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department have less than three weeks sending the $600 stimulus checks before those eligible Americans would need to claim their money if they file their 2020 taxes. Congress set the cutoff date on January 15 for the Treasury and IRS to stop making payments through paper checks, EIP cards, and direct deposit.
Therefore, when should you expect your second stimulus payment to arrive? Here are some things to know about the direct deposit, IRS deadline, and what will happen if you don't receive your stimulus check until January 15, according to CNET:
When will the direct deposit payments be sent?
On December 29, the IRS sent the first direct deposit payments, saying that payments will continue this week. However, your direct deposit may be marked as "pending or provisional" until January 4, the IRS said.
Eligible individuals do not need to do anything to receive their second stimulus payment as the federal agency has the beneficiaries' bank or mailing information on file. Besides, you cannot influence much a direct deposit over a mailed check.
For instance, you cannot register a new direct deposit account or correct any banking information you filed if you closed an account. You will need to claim on your taxes if the IRS cannot deliver your payment. And unlike in the first round of stimulus payments, which the IRS reportedly issued to dead people. The second round of stimulus prohibits payments to anyone deceased before January 1, 2020, as per AARP.
Read also: You are One of the Wisest People If You Spend Your Economic Impact Payment This Way
Paper stimulus checks and EIP cards are in the mail
If the IRS does not have your latest direct deposit information on file, the payments will be sent as a check or EIP debit card in the mail. The federal agency started going out on December 30. It is unclear if the IRS has enough time to process all of the payments before January 15.
According to the U.S Department of Treasury, they began to send almost four million Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) by prepaid debit card instead of a paper check with the IRS. EIPS cardholders could get cash from in-network ATMs, make purchases, and transfer funds to their personal bank account without additional fees.
Will the second stimulus payments end after January 15?
The latest $900 billion stimulus legislation is set to expire, sending stimulus payments on January 15. If you have not claimed the full second stimulus check money by then, therefore, you need to claim all or part of the missing amount when you filed your federal tax returns as a Recovery Rebate Credit.
People who receive their payment through direct deposit would not be affected. However, there is an issue with any of the three payment methods, which means you have to wait until you file a claim until you can take extra steps.
Tying the 2020 tax return to the delivery of second stimulus checks would potentially delay the payment for most people since there is a broad scope of circumstances that will cause people to file taxes as early as January and as late as April 15 to others. Besides, it is unclear how fast the IRS would deliver payments as a Recovery Rebate Credit.
Read also: Second Stimulus Check Recipients: Do You have to be a US Citizen Living in America? IRS Says, No!
