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The IRS will start sending out paper stimulus checks by the end of April.
- Americans will start receiving stimulus payments as early as April 9, according to an internal IRS memo reviewed by The Washington Post.
- Most people should receive their money by mid-April via direct deposit, the Treasury said.
- If the IRS doesn't have your bank information, it will send a paper check to your last known address.
- The checks will be sent out starting at the end of April up until early September.
- Note that this schedule is subject to change. This post will be updated to reflect the latest information.
- Read more personal finance coverage.
Most Americans receiving a stimulus check should expect to see the payment in their bank account by April 15 (that also happens to be the former tax deadline, for those keeping score at home).
While the IRS is attempting to get payments to people as soon as possible via direct deposit, it's still going to have to issue paper checks to millions of people who haven't provided bank details.
"If we if have your information, you'll get it within two weeks. Social Security, you'll get it very quickly after that. If we don't have your information, you'll have a simple web portal. We'll upload it. If we don't have that, we'll send you checks in the mail," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a White House press briefing on April 2.
You don't have to sign up or apply for anything to get your payment. In fact, if you receive a call, email, Facebook message, or other communication about your stimulus check, it's probably a scam. The government will never ask you to verify personal information over the phone and certainly will not ask for money.
Here's when you can expect your stimulus payment to arrive, based on all the information we have so far.
Note that this schedule is subject to change. This post will be updated to reflect the latest information.
The IRS will begin electronic payments April 9
According to an internal document reviewed by The Washington Post, the IRS plans to begin generating electronic payments on April 9 for taxpayers who have filed a 2018 or 2019 tax return and qualify for a stimulus check. Dependents older than 16, people without a Social Security number, and those with incomes above $99,000 (or $136,500 if you file as a head of household) won't get a stimulus check.
Up to 70 million people will be paid by April 15
Patricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Treasury Department, told The Post that 50 million to 70 million people would have their payments deposited by April 15.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, stipulates that stimulus payments will also go to Americans on Social Security retirement and disability benefits, even if they haven't filed a recent tax return.
"Social Security recipients who are not typically required to file a tax return do not need to take an action and will receive their payment directly to their bank account," Mnuchin said in a Treasury release.
The payments will be for the maximum amount, $1,200, and paid via the deposit or mailing information reported on tax forms SSA-1099 for Social Security recipients and RRB-1099 for people who retired from railroad service.
Paper checks will start going out April 24
For those who have not filed a tax return in the past two years or do not have direct-deposit information on file with the IRS, the agency said it would give taxpayers the opportunity to submit this information online before sending out paper checks.
"In the coming weeks, Treasury plans to develop a web-based portal for individuals to provide their banking information to the IRS online, so that individuals can receive payments immediately as opposed to checks in the mail," the IRS wrote on its website.
If you don't submit your direct-deposit details, the payment will be sent as a paper check to your last known address. The IRS will begin issuing these checks on April 24, according to The Post's report, and prioritize low-income Americans.
Checks for people with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $10,000 or less will be sent out around April 24.
The last group of people to get paid should be issued paper checks by September 11
From there, the IRS will send out 5 million paper checks per week, moving up the income thresholds in $10,000 increments, according to the report. For instance, people with incomes above $20,000 and less than $30,000 will be sent checks on May 1. On May 8, people with incomes between $30,000 and $40,000 will be sent checks, and so on.
The process of mailing checks is expected to continue until September 4, when joint filers with an AGI of $198,000 - the cutoff for the minimum stimulus payment - will receive theirs.
According to The Post, remaining payments for those who the IRS had no prior tax information will be sent on September 11.
- Read more on managing your money in this tumultuous time:
- 3 options for people struggling to pay their mortgage during the global health crisis
- 4 reasons to get disability insurance, even if you don't think you need it
- If you've been financially impacted by the coronavirus, you may be able to pause payments on these 8 bills
- How to get a stimulus check from the US government, which could pay up to $1,200 if you qualify
- In response to the coronavirus, credit card issuers like Amex and Capital One are letting customers skip payments without interest and more
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