Waiting for coronavirus stimulus check? Direct deposit information is due Wednesday, IRS says

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- If you're among the millions of Americans still waiting for the coronavirus stimulus payment to land in your bank account, time is running out to provide the IRS with your necessary direct deposit information.

On Friday, May 8, the IRS said eligible taxpayers who have not yet received their money -- up to $1,200 for individuals earning less than $99,000 -- have until noon on Wednesday, May 13, to use the "Get My Payment" portal to submit direct deposit information.

"After noon Wednesday, the IRS will begin preparing millions of files to send to BFS for paper checks that will begin arriving through late May and into June," the agency said. "Taxpayers who use Get My Payment before that cut-off can still take advantage of entering direct deposit information."

Otherwise, if individuals do not provide their banking information or are unable to do so via the tool, they will be forced to wait until June or later to receive their economic impact payment in the mail.

If Americans filed a 2019 or 2018 tax return, which will be used by the agency to calculate eligibility, but did not provide direct deposit information, the tool can be used to input the necessary information. You can also track the payment online through a separate portal set up this week by the IRS.

There could be a number of reasons you may not have received your money yet: Even if you filed your 2018 or 2019 tax returns automatically, you must have also received a refund in those years via direct deposit to ensure your money arrives. If you owed money, the IRS will not use that bank account information.

If you did receive a tax return but it went to a temporary account set up by a tax return organization -- which allows customers to avoid paying anything out of pocket -- you will need to provide your deposit information to the IRS via the "Get My Payment" tool.

So far, the IRS has delivered 130 million much-awaited payments worth an estimated $200 billion.

The CARES Act, signed into law at the end of March, included one-time payments of $1,200 for individuals who earn less than $75,000 annually ($2,400 checks for couples who earn less than $150,0000) and $500 for every child under the age of 17. The payments are tapered for higher-earners and phase out completely for individuals who earn more than $99,000.

The cash is intended to blunt the financial pain for Americans caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which brought the economy grinding to a halt. In two months, more than 33 million Americans filed for unemployment, the Labor Department said Thursday. The record-shattering number is a stunning sign of the depth of the economic calamity inflicted by the virus outbreak.

The speed at which the money is distributed depends on people’s tax-filing method -- and whether the government has their banking information. Electronic payments can be disbursed quicker than cash checks, which must be printed and mailed separately.

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