Stimulus Checks Are Arriving – What to Do if You Did Not Get Yours

Economic stimulus checks, aka Economic Impact Payments, began arriving in taxpayers checking accounts this week. If you filed a return for 2018 or 2019 that contained bank account information for refunds, you should have received or will shortly receive your payment. For details on these payments, check out our blog post.

The IRS has released several tools to help taxpayers track their checks and manage the payments. You can use the tools to change your address or add banking information if you did not provide banking information on your 2018 or 2019 tax returns.

How to Add Banking Information To Get Your Stimulus Payment Electronically

If your 2018 or 2019 federal tax return did not contain banking information for either receiving a refund or paying taxes owed, go to the IRS website to add your banking information. Once you are there, click on Get My Payment. You will need the following information:

• Your social security number
• Date of birth
• Mailing address
• Adjusted gross income from 2019 (or 2018 if not filed)
• Amount of refund expected or amount of tax owed on your return
• Banking information (routing and account number)

The process is very easy and takes less than 5 minutes. I strongly encourage taxpayers to complete the banking information and accept their stimulus payment electronically to avoid having the check lost and to speed the receipt of the funds.

I also recommend doing this as soon as possible before the IRS starts sending out paper checks in the next few weeks.

What To Do if You Did Not File A Return

Most eligible taxpayers will automatically receive their Stimulus Check without doing anything. These individuals include:

• Individuals who filed a federal income tax return for 2018 or 2019 and met the income thresholds
• Individuals who receive Social Security retirement, disability (SSDI), or survivor benefits
• Individuals who receive Railroad Retirement benefits

You may not have been required to file a return for these years if you had gross income that did not exceed $12,200 ($24,400 for married couples) for 2019 or otherwise were not required to file.

If this is you, go to the IRS Non-Filers web page and file a return.