The IRS processed between 5 and 7 million stimulus checks per week during the delivery of the first stimulus check. If you don’t receive your second full stimulus check soon after January 15, it doesn’t mean you’re out of luck to claim your money, but your payment could be delayed for months.
For this reason you will have to claim all or part of the amount missing from your check when you file your federal income tax return this year as a Recovery Refund Credit. You can also claim the money the IRS still owes you from the first round of checks as part of the credit.
The IRS sent the first direct deposit payments starting Dec. 29 while the process continues with money transfers to bank accounts. People who have had problems with direct deposits that are not delivered by Friday will need to resolve them during the 2020 tax season.
Although most people who are eligible need not do anything to receive the second payment, as long as the IRS already has your banking or mailing information on file, you also cannot sign up for direct deposit or do much to correct your banking information on file if they closed an account. If the IRS cannot deliver your payment, you will have to claim it on your taxes.
If the IRS does not have your current direct deposit information on file, the agency will send the payment as a check or EIP debit card in the mail. It is unclear whether the IRS has time to deliver the tens of millions of payments by January 15. The IRS processed between 5 and 7 million stimulus checks a week during the first stimulus check, according to a government report in June.
How long is the maximum time you can wait to receive your new stimulus check?
People who receive the second stimulus check in the mail, either in the form of a paper check or a prepaid debit card, should look for a payment anytime between now and January 15. According to the Treasury, 22% of the payments made last summer were made as paper checks and another 3% as prepaid debit cards.
- After January 15 you will have to claim the money the IRS owes you with your tax return in 2020. That could further delay your stimulus check.
- When you file your 2020 taxes the deadline could be April 15, unless you request an extension.
- It’s important to wait for the time it will take the IRS to process your tax return, which may also include your second stimulus check.
- If you have any complications that arise in your specific case, it could further delay your check.