Will The Irs Reload A Prior Pre
Some people who received one or both of their first two stimulus payments on a pre-paid debit card may wonder if the IRS will reload that card with the $1,400 for the latest round of payments. The answer is no, the IRS says.
If the IRS now has bank account information for you, it will send the money via direct deposit. If not, it will either issue a check or a pre-paid debit card, but the latter will come in the form of a new card, the tax agency said.
People should look for a white envelope with the return address “Economic Impact Payment Card” accompanied by a U.S. Treasury Department seal. The card says “Visa” on the front, and the issuing bank, MetaBank, on the back.
How Do I Find My Stimulus Money What To Do About A Missing $1400 Check
Your third stimulus payment could be delayed for a variety of reasons. We’ll help you track down your IRS payment.
Alison DeNisco Rayome
Managing Editor
Alison DeNisco Rayome is a managing editor at CNET, now covering home topics after writing about services and software. Alison was previously an editor at TechRepublic.
Clifford Colby
Managing Editor
Clifford is a managing editor at CNET. He spent a handful of years at Peachpit Press, editing books on everything from the first iPhone to Python. He also worked at a handful of now-dead computer magazines, including MacWEEK and MacUser. Unrelated, he roots for the Oakland A’s.
To date, the IRS has made 169 million payments for the third round of stimulus checks for $1,400. The agency continues to send weekly batches of payments, so there is still time if you are waiting for your money. However, there could actually be an issue with your payment and the IRS doesn’t want you to call them with problems related to a missing check.
Reasons for a delay could include a lag in mail delivery , if the IRS has incorrect direct deposit information for you or if the agency suspects identity theft. There might be other problems if you’re a recipient of SSI, SSDI or veterans benefits. Or maybe you received a letter from the IRS saying that your $1,400 payment was sent, but the check never arrived. Then what?
What To Do If The Irs ‘needs More Information’
If the Get My Payment tool gave you a payment date but you still haven’t received your money, the IRS may need more information. Check the Get My Payment tool again and if it reports “Need More Information,” this could indicate that your check has been returned because the post office was unable to deliver it, an IRS representative told CNET. Here are more details on how the tracker tool works and what the messages mean.
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How Much Should My Payment Be
The amount of the payment depends on your income.
- For the third round of stimulus checks: Most individuals earning $75,000 or less received a payment of $1,400. Married couples who filed taxes jointly and earned $150,000 or less received a payment of $2,800. Families were eligible to receive an additional $1,400 per dependent. For this round of stimulus checks, the eligible dependent did not need to be under the age of 17. For example, a family of 4 could have received $5,600. Use our stimulus check calculator to see how much your family could expect from the third round of stimulus checks.
- For the second round of stimulus checks: Most individuals earning $75,000 or less received a payment of $600. Married couples who filed taxes jointly and earned $150,000 or less received a payment of $1,200. Families were eligible to receive an additional $600 per child. For example, a family of 4 could have received $2,400.
- For the first round of stimulus checks: Most individuals earning $75,000 or less received a payment of $1,200. Married couples who filed taxes jointly and earned $150,000 or less received a payment of $2,400. Families were eligible to receive an additional $500 per child. For example, a family of 4 could have received up to $3,400.
Individuals and married couples that made more than the amounts above may still have been eligible for a payment. Use our stimulus check calculator to see if you were still eligible for a payment.
Are My Dependents Eligible With This Check

As a rule, dependents are not eligible for their own checks, but they do contribute to the total your household can receive. In many cases, it can multiple your family’s total.
In the third stimulus check, dependents of every age count toward $1,400. If you’re a parent of a baby born in 2020, you could be entitled to $1,100 if you never received the first two payments for your new dependent last year. You can also get $1,400 for a baby born in 2021. Note that if your household exceeds the strict income limits, you won’t receive any stimulus check money, even if you have dependents.
With the second stimulus check approved in December, each child dependent — age 16 and younger — added $600 each to the household payment. There was no cap on how many children you could claim a payment. That was an increase in the amount per child from the $500 that was part of the first check approved last March as part of the CARES Act, even as the per-adult maximum decreased from $1,200 per adult to $600 in the December stimulus plan.
The final qualifications for a third stimulus check have been settled.
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Theres Still Time To Get Payments
If you havent yet filed your tax return, you still have time to file to get your missed 2021 stimulus payments.
Visit ChildTaxCredit.gov for details.
The IRS has issued all first, second and third Economic Impact Payments. You can no longer use the Get My Payment application to check your payment status.
Most eligible people already received their Economic Impact Payments. However, people who are missing stimulus payments should review the information below to determine their eligibility to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit for tax year 2020 or 2021.
Securely access your IRS online account to view the total of your first, second and third Economic Impact Payment amounts under the Tax Records page.
How Did The Irs Know Where To Send My Check
The IRS used the information it already had to issue stimulus payments.
If you had direct deposit information on file with the IRS, you should have received your payment via direct deposit.
If you didn’t have direct deposit information on file with the IRS, you should have received your payment as a check or debit card in the mail.
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Payment Status Not Available: What Should You Do
The IRS Get My Payment tool will only let you input new direct deposit or bank account information if youre seeing a Need More Information status, breaking with tradition from previous stimulus check rounds. That works either by submitting a financial product that includes a routing and account number with it, whether it be a bank account or prepaid debit card.
The easiest way to make sure that the IRS has the most accurate picture of your financial situation and personal whereabouts is by submitting your 2020 tax return. You now have until May 17 to submit your 2020 tax return, after the IRS on March 17 announced it was delaying the deadline by a month.
However, given the unprecedented and unconventional nature of the current tax season, the Treasury Department and IRS may have already attempted to send out your payment before your tax information was processed.
You could also update your mailing address by submitting a Form 8822, Change of Address, or notifying the IRS orally of your move. But be prepared: You might experience delays waiting for confirmation, given that the IRS has already begun distributing these stimulus checks. As always, a direct deposit is the fastest way to guarantee you receive a payment.
Who Is Eligible For The Recovery Rebate Credit
According to the IRS, most people who were eligible for the third round of payments have already received their stimulus checks but there are a few situations why someone might not have received it or received the wrong amount. For example:
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You’re claiming a new dependent in 2021 .
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Your marital status changed in 2021.
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Your adjusted gross income from 2019 or 2020 was high enough to make you ineligible for a stimulus check, but your 2021 AGI is now lower and within the qualifying threshold.
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You did not have a Social Security number but received one by the 2021 tax deadline.
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Can I Track My Stimulus Check
Yes. Just like the IRS typically allows you to track your tax refund, you can now know where your stimulus payment is.
On April 15, the IRS launched the Get My Payment application. With Get My Payment, people are able to check their payment status, confirm whether they’re getting it via direct deposit or check, and enter their bank account information. In order to track the payment, you’ll need to input your Social Security number, date of birth, street address and zip code.
If the Get May Payment app returns a message about how your payment status is not available, it may not have your information uploaded, the IRS may not have processed your 2019 tax return, or you may not be eligible for a stimulus check.
Get My Payment is updated once a day with fresh data.
Who Receives A Stimulus Check Payment
If you fall within the Adjusted Gross Income thresholds shown below and have a Social Security number, you are eligible for each economic impact payment. Those who do not qualify for payments include non-resident aliens, dependents, and estates/trusts.
The amount of payment or credit you qualify for depends on your Adjusted gross income and the number of qualified children with a Social Security Number or Adoption Tax Identification Number you can claim.
For 2020, youll qualify for up to $1,800 in credits for yourself and qualified dependents can increase the amount youre eligible to get by up to $1,100 per qualified dependent . Unfortunately, adult dependents didnt qualify for the first and second stimulus payments.
For 2021, youll qualify for $1,400 in advance credits for yourself and qualified dependents will increase the taxpayers EIP by $1,400 so far. However, adult dependents do qualify the taxpayer to receive additional amounts on the third check.
You can see a detailed breakout of the income limits here:
- Estimate your third stimulus amount with H& R Blocks Stimulus Check Calculator
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Use The Irs Get My Payment Tool To Track Stimulus Money
For the third stimulus check: It’s worth visiting the IRS’ online portal designed to track the status of your 2021 payment. Generally, it should tell you when your check will be processed and how you’ll receive it: for example, as a paper check in the mail. If the Get My Payment tool doesn’t give you information you can understand or says your check is on the way and you haven’t received it, you may need to eventually request a payment trace or file for a recovery rebate credit.
For the first or second payment: If you can’t find the letter sent by the IRS, you’ll need to create an online profile with the IRS to see your status. For any problems, you may need to issue a payment trace or file for a recovery rebate credit, even if you don’t normally submit a tax return. Here’s more information about finding the amount of your first and second payments.
Can A Nursing Home Or Assisted Living Facility Take The Payment From Me

No. If you qualify for a payment, its yours to keep. If a loved one qualifies and lives in a nursing home, residential care home or assisted living facility, its theirs to keep. The facility may not put their hands on it or require somebody to sign it over to them. Even if that somebody is on Medicaid.
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Unsure If Youre Owed Stimulus Payments How To Find Out
- 9:28 ET, Jul 29 2022
AMERICANS might not know that they are still due another stimulus check but luckily theres a simple way to find out.
This would apply to the latest round of stimulus checks worth up to $1,400.
Qualifying Americans get the maximum payment as long as their income is $75,000 and below, or $150,000 for couples.
Past those thresholds, the $1,400 check starts to phase out and it’s then capped out at $80,000 and $160,000 respectively.
As of December 2021, the Internal Revenue Service had issued more than 175million third-round stimulus checks.
While most Americans have received their third stimulus payments, there are a few groups that may still be owed money.
What If You Have Changed Your Address Or Bank Account
The IRS will use the data already in its systems to send the new payments:
- If your direct deposit information is on file, you will receive the payment that way.
- If your direct deposit information is not on file, you will receive the payment as a check or debit card in the mail.
Some payments may have been sent to an account that may be closed or no longer active. By law, the financial institution must return the payment to the IRS, they cannot hold and issue the payment to an individual when the account is no longer active.
The IRS cannot change payment information, including bank account or mailing information. If an eligible taxpayer does not get a payment or it is less than expected, it may be claimed on the 2020 tax return as the Recovery Rebate Credit. Remember, Economic Impact Payments are an advance payment of what will be called the Recovery Rebate Credit on the 2020 Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR.
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I Had A Problem With The First Or Second Payment
Some individuals had too much income in 2019 to qualify for the first or second stimulus payment , but their income decreased enough in 2020 for them to qualify. If you fall into this category, you can file a tax return for your 2020 taxes and you’ll receive a recovery rebate credit as part of your refund .
In other cases, families received stimulus payments by direct deposit but the IRS neglected to add money for one or more of their children. Sometimes there didn’t seem to be a reason for this . For other families, it seems the IRS did not update the number of children that taxpayers have, even for families who claimed new children on their 2019 tax returns. You’ll be able to claim the rest of the stimulus payment when you file your next tax return.
How To Claim The Recovery Rebate Credit
If you did not receive your first or second stimulus payment, or if it was for the wrong amount, you’ll need to file a tax return for the 2020 tax year . You’ll file Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR . You’ll need your Notice 1444, Your Economic Impact Payment from the IRS when you file. You should have gotten your first Notice 1444 sometime last spring or summer, and you should have gotten your second one in February 2021. You’ll need the amount of the payment in the letter when you file your tax return in 2021.
If you don’t receive your third stimulus payment, or if it was for the wrong amount, you’ll need to file a tax return for the 2021 tax year . You’ll file Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR . You’ll need your Notice 1444, Your Economic Impact Payment from the IRS when you file. You’ll need the amount of the payment in the letter when you file your tax return in 2021.
You can take the Recovery Rebate Credit for any rebate amount that is more than the economic impact payment that you received by completing line 30 of Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR. The instructions for Form 1040 and Form 1040-SR include a worksheet you can use to calculate the amount of the credit you are eligible for.
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When Are Stimulus Checks Being Sent Out
Here’s the rough schedule so far, courtesy of a House Committee on Ways and Means memo:
- week of April 13: the IRS will send out 60 million payments to taxpayers for whom it has direct deposit information from their 2018 or 2019 tax returns
- late April: the IRS will do a “second run of payments” to Social Security beneficiaries who didn’t file tax returns in 2018 or 2019 but do have direct deposit on file
- week of May 4: the IRS will start mailing paper checks at a rate of 5 million per week â a process that could last up to 20 weeks
My Address Changed How Can I Tell The Irs
Many people moved in 2020, which means if you are one of those expecting a mailed check or pre-paid debit card, you may be concerned about the payment reaching you.
Unfortunately, the IRS’ “Get My Payment” site doesn’t allow people to update their addresses. Instead, the IRS is urging people to file their 2020 tax returns with their current address.
However, given that the deadline for filing 2020 tax returns has been pushed back to May 17 from its typical April 15 cutoff, there are likely millions of people who haven’t yet filed their tax forms and aren’t likely to do so before the IRS distributes most of its checks.
The IRS said that payments that can’t be delivered to eligible people will be returned to the tax agency. If that happens, the IRS’ “Get My Payment” site will show you a “Need More Information” message, which will then allow you to enter direct deposit information or ask for the stimulus check to be delivered on a pre-paid debit card.
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