“It is better to prevent, than to have to remedy”. Checking the status of your bank account to make sure it is active or opening one would be two of the options available to you at the time so that, in the event of a second stimulus check distribution, the money would arrive faster.
During the first round of payments under the CARES Act, beneficiaries who had a bank account for direct deposit were the first to receive economic stimulus funds.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) counted 120 million payments under direct deposit out of the total 159 million sent through June. Most bank account deposits were made within one week.
In light of the above, it is important that you examine the status of your account so that the bank does not prevent the transfer of the funds in the event of further direct payments to individuals and families.
It is also recommended that if you do not have a bank account, you should consider opening one.
A recent study by the Urban Institute found that minority groups such as African Americans and Latinos are less likely to enter into such a financial contract than white Americans. This is due, in part, to the fact that the former’s income is lower than that of the other group.
Another study by the Tax Policy Center that also looks at the most disadvantaged populations anticipated that in the event that a second round is approved, the poorest populations, which include Latinos and African Americans, are more likely to not be paid.
The June report points to income level, race and immigration status as some of the causes of the disparities.
The report noted that 30% of adults under 65 indicated that their families had not received the incentive approved under the CARES law within five months of the start of the distribution.
A third assessment in July, but from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) indicates that non-whites are more likely not to receive the stimulus check distributed by the IRS since last April.
That population is part of the 12 million Americans estimated by CBPP.
Currently, the nation’s largest banks such as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo offer the option of opening overdraft-free checking accounts to try to integrate lower-income groups into the system.
“Get My Payment”
In this case, another issue to consider in order to expedite the arrival of the payment from the federal government is to request the IRS that the money be sent to a bank account in case it was not specified to the agency at the time of filing the tax return.
For the first round of distribution, recipients had until last May to request – through the online tool “Get My Payment” – the bank deposit.
At the moment, only those who are creditors of the payment and have not received it, can request that form of payment through the service named “Non-filers”.
However, if new assistance is approved, the IRS may reactivate the procedure through “Get My Payment”.
That’s why you should visit IRS.gov for updates on the topic as well as the press pages with information related to the stimulus payments.