Information regarding second round of stimulus checks and how to check the status of where your money is

Beginning December 29, the IRS and Treasury Department had less than three weeks to send all the $600 stimulus payments they could before those who are eligible for the $600 second check would need to claim money when they file taxes later this year. Congress set January 15 as the cutoff date for when the Treasury and IRS had to stop making payments through direct deposit, paper checks and EIP cards.

If you don’t receive your full second stimulus check money by January 15, you will need to claim all or part of the missing amount when you file your federal tax returns in this year as a Recovery Rebate Credit. You will also be able to claim any money the IRS still owes you from the first round of checks as a credit.

Individuals eligible for the second Economic Impact Payment can check the status of both their first and second payments by using the Get My Payment tool, available in English and Spanish only on IRS.gov. Data is updated once per day overnight. The IRS is asking people to not call them about the second stimulus payments as phone assistors do not have additional information beyond what is available on IRS gov.

If the IRS doesn’t have your current direct deposit information on file, it will send the payment as a check or EIP debit card in the mail beginning December 30. It has been reported that some taxpayers who use tax preparation services, such as H&R Block and TurboTax, say their second relief payments were sent to the incorrect bank account.

By law, the IRS is the “sole party with the ability to determine the eligibility and distribute stimulus payment” and the financial institution must return the payment to the IRS if an account is no longer active. If a person sees an account number displayed that they don’t recognize after visiting the IRS Get My Payment website, customer service agents are ready to help by phone or online.

The second round of federal stimulus checks are the result of a $900 billion stimulus bill passed by Congress in December and signed December 27 by President Trump. The checks will amount to $600 for each qualifying adult and child.