Some Taxpayers Receive Stimulus Payments IRS releases tools for others

April 16, 2020

The following information is provided courtesy of the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP)

The first batch of economic stimulus payments have been deposited in taxpayer accounts. For those who have not received their payment the IRS has released a set of  tools to address questions about stimulus payments. The Social Security Administration recommends that for some people receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI)—specifically those who have dependent children under the age of 17—it is to their advantage to go to this portal to ensure they also get the $500 per dependent payment. For those SSI recipients who do not have dependents, no further action is needed on their part. The IRS projects the payments for this group will go out no later than early May.

The IRS also released the Get My Payment tool, which shows where and when the economic impact payment was delivered. An additional feature on Get My Payment gives eligible individuals an opportunity to provide their bank account information so they can receive their payment more quickly rather than waiting for a paper check. This feature will be unavailable if the economic impact payment has already been scheduled for delivery.

According to an IRS stakeholder liaison, as of mid-day April 15, more than 6.2 million taxpayers successfully received their payment status using the tool, and almost 1.1 million taxpayers successfully provided banking information, ensuring a direct deposit will be quickly sent.

In situations where payment status is not available, the tool will respond with “Status Not Available”. You may receive this message for one of the following reasons:

  • If you are not eligible for a payment
  • If you are required to file a tax return and have not filed in tax year 2018 or 2019
  • If you recently filed your return or provided information through the non-filers tool, your payment status will be updated when processing is completed
  • If you are an SSA or RRB Form 1099 recipient, SSI or VA benefit recipient, the IRS is working with your agency to issue your payment; your information is not available in this tool yet

In addition, an IRS liaison noted taxpayers should only access the tool one time per day. If they access it more than once per day, they will get locked out and possibly have no way to get back in the system. The Get My Payment tool is updated once daily, usually overnight.

To help you figure out how the stimulus payments are determined, we have two videos available on YouTube that discuss various taxpayer case studies relating to the economic impact payments — part 1 and part 2.