Stimulus checks and direct deposit: When and how you can sign up to send the payment to your bank

Already this week, the IRS sent $ 242 billion directly to the bank accounts of those who made direct deposits with the federal government. If you qualify for the third check there is a reasonable chance that you have money arrived in your bank account. But the IRS is not done yet and said it will make more payments to banks and by post in the coming weeks paper checks and EIP cards. If the IRS does not have it your banking information, is it too late to deliver it? The answer is yes and no.

You have a good reason to want your payment to go directly to your bank account: with the first two rounds of payments, the IRS and the US Treasury have payments to people with direct deposit information on file, and Congress instructed them to do the same with the third check. (Here is how to calculate your new payment.) So what happens if you qualified for a check but have not set up a direct deposit?

With the first checkWith the IRS you can add banking information via the Get My Payment tool. For the second check, the agency did not accept new or updated direct deposit information. With the third stimulus test go out now, here’s all you need to know about direct deposit payments and what you can and cannot do. This story has been updated with new information.

Will the IRS allow me to receive the third payment as a direct deposit?

Yes. In certain situations.

First, if you have signed up for direct deposit when you file your federal tax this year your third payment can be sent to your bank. Some people report that the IRS did use the banking information they provided on taxes this year to send the third payment.

Next, if you have the IRS gets my payment tool to get the status of your payment and you see the message “Need more information”, which means your payment was returned to the IRS because the post office could not deliver it. If this is your situation, you can have the IRS reissue your payment as a direct deposit by providing a routing and account number for your bank account in the instrument. The IRS said you should see this message and provide your banking information two to three weeks after your payment is returned to the IRS.

However, you cannot make a direct deposit into the instrument without first returning your payment. For the first check, the IRS allows it eligible add direct deposit details to receive their payments directly to their bank accounts. The IRS turned off the direct deposit registration feature on May 15, 2020, and did not turn it back on for the second checks, when the agency had just over two weeks to complete payments.

This time, the IRS said it would “use data already in its systems to send the third stimulus payments.” with direct deposit information on the file will receive the payment that way. Those without current direct deposit information on the file will receive the payment by check or debit card. ‘

Why would I want to use direct deposit to get my stimulus check money?

More than 75% of the first round of payments and more than 80% of the second payments were distributed via direct deposit. During the first stimulus investigation round, the IRS encouraged people who did not have a direct deposit with the agency to sign up for direct deposit anyway. The agency said these people can still receive their checks faster, even if they entered ‘late’ compared to waiting for a mailed check.

What information does the IRS need to set up a new direct deposit account?

If the IRS does provide new banking information for the third check through the Get My Payment tool, you want your bank account type, routing and account numbers at hand. You have different ways to find this banking information.

Banking website: Your bank’s website can show you route and account numbers. Log in to the account you want to use and look around for the numbers you need.

Banking app: If your bank has an app, it can show your account and router numbers. In the app, tap on the account you want to use to see the account and router numbers.

Printed check: At the bottom of your check you will probably see three sets of numbers: the first set of nine numbers is your router number. The second set of 8 to 12 numbers is your account number. The third set is the one you do not need for direct deposit as it is the number of the individual check.

See this IRS page for more assistance in tracking your routing and account numbers.

Am I guaranteed to get my stimulus test by direct deposit?

If you have already made a direct deposit with the IRS, the agency said it would use the information to make your payment. For the first and second check, however, some reported that they had received their payments by mail, either as a paper check or An EIP card, even if the IRS did have their banking details. The vast majority of the first and second payments did take place via electronic transfer. You can track your payment using the IRS payment status instrument.

If you needed any motivation to submit your tax returns well in advance, the IRS said it would use your most recent federal tax forms it processed when determining the amount of your third payment. If you included bank information when you filed, the IRS may use it when sending your payment. It’s a gamble that the IRS will process your new documentation by the time it gets to your name, but it’s still a possibility.

What if there is a problem with direct deposit?

It can happen. With previous payments, the IRS has experienced this problems sending stimulus payments to millions of people which uses tax preparation software such as TurboTax and Jackson Hewitt. Now that the IRS is sending the third checks in the middle of tax season, it can become a problem again.

How would the IRS get my bank details for the third check?

The IRS has several ways to find your banking information:

• You submitted a tax return in 2019 or 2020 and received a refund by direct deposit.
• You have already submitted your tax forms this year and provided your banking information to the IRS.
• You registered your bank information for the first check through the IRS ‘Get My Payment’ online tool.
• You have provided banking information through the non-files: enter the instrument in the payment information here if you do not normally charge tax.
• From another federal agency that issues benefits to you, such as the Social Security Administration, Veterans Affairs, or the Railway Retirement Council.

What happens if my bank details for direct deposit have changed?

With the first stimulus checks, you can use the Get My Payment and non-filers tool to provide your banking information to the IRS. However, the IRS said that it is not possible for people to change the direct deposit information for a stimulus payment that it has on file. It is a protection against fraud.

With the second checks, the IRS did not accept new or changed banking information. If the IRS tries to make a payment to the now closed bank account, the financial institution must return the payment to the IRS, the agency said.

This time, if your bank information is invalid or the account is closed, the bank will return your payment to the IRS, and the agency will email it to you by check at the address it submitted, the IRS said .

If you have moved, you can provide the IRS your new postal address.

Do I need a bank account to get my direct deposit check?

According to the Urban Institute, people with bank accounts and direct deposits (which are disproportionately white) were more likely to get their first stimulus test by the end of May than people who identified themselves as black or Hispanic or were below the poverty line. It was directly linked to groups that were more likely to have bank accounts and who submitted the information to the IRS to facilitate tax returns for direct deposits.

Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and several other major banks are now offering cheaper unchecked bank accounts as part of a program to make it easier for people to get bank accounts.

For more information on the checks, here is when the IRS will start sending third checks, how much could you qualify for this payment and how to withhold payment from the IRS.

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