Delayed Stimulus Checks: What You Need To Know

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department are scrambling to distribute new stimulus checks as fast as possible before the January 15 deadline.

January 15 is the date specified in the recently implemented $900 billion COVID relief bill, the legislation that made the new $600 stimulus payments possible.

When Will Delayed Stimulus Checks Arrive?

Millions of U.S. citizens, whose stimulus checks got caught up in an IRS bungle, should receive them by early February if they have not already.

The IRS is working to fix an error that caused it to transfer millions of $600 coronavirus relief payments to closed or inactive bank accounts. This forced taxpayers to be patient as the money bounced back to the feds.

IRS Delivers Relief Payments After Delays

After initial problems, the IRS transfers more of the second series of stimulus checks to taxpayers, reported ABC News.

The government started disseminating the stimulus checks, worth $600 per qualified adult and dependent, at the end of December.

Delayed Stimulus Checks May Be Connected With Tax Returns

If you are still waiting for a second COVID-19 relief payment, you may not receive them until you file your taxes.

According to Dori Miller of Liberty Tax Service, the IRS needs to switch to processing tax returns immediately. If you do not receive your check or direct deposit by the month's end, you are going to have to wait until your tax return, reported WOWO.

What Should You Do If You Do Not Receive It By Friday?

The first step is to check the Internal Revenue Service's Get My Payment tool. It will tell you if the stimulus check was transferred, when, and whether you are receiving a direct deposit or a check.

According to federal officials, the IRS transferred over 80 percent of second stimulus checks from the novel coronavirus relief package by the end of last week. An estimated $107 billion was transferred by direct deposit, $23 billion by checks, and the rest by prepaid debit card.

TurboTax and H&R Block have issued the second series of stimulus checks to customers. They fixed a delay brought on by the IRS sending some Americans' payments to these tax services rather than their bank accounts.

According to TurboTax, "We are happy to share that stimulus payments will begin to be deposited starting January 8. We expect most payments to be available that day, but your bank could take a few business days to process," reported Penn Live.

Tax-prep company Jackson Hewitt stated that as many as 13 million people might have experienced a delay in receiving their money.

Filing their taxes could mean at least many more weeks of waiting for their stimulus payments, which would be transferred via tax refunds. The IRS regularly begins accepting tax returns for the prior calendar year at January's end, and processing commences in February.

Claiming Your Missing Stimulus Money

To claim your missing stimulus check during tax season this 2021, you will have to file for a Recovery Rebate Credit from the IRS, which would either bolster the amount of your tax refund or diminish the amount of the tax you need to pay by the amount of stimulus money the government owes you.