Still Haven’t Received Your $1,400 Stimulus Check? Here’s What to Do.

Still Haven’t Received Your $1,400 Stimulus Check? Here’s What to Do.

Keep in mind that more payments are indeed on the way, and more than likely you will see the cash land in your bank account relatively soon, especially if you already have received the previous stimulus checks.

 

The Internal Revenue Service has confirmed that it has already sent out coronavirus stimulus checks to roughly ninety million Americans under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

That means that there are plenty of Americans who still haven’t received a penny from the IRS. So, what can you do?

 

Keep in mind that more payments are indeed on the way, and more than likely you will see the cash land in your bank account relatively soon, especially if you already have received the previous stimulus checks.

Like the previous payments, direct deposit recipients would be the first to get the money, followed by those receiving physical checks, which can take weeks to arrive by mail, and EIP cards, a prepaid debit card that one must activate online before using.

However, fewer Americans will receive checks this time around. Individuals who earn as much as $75,000 in adjusted gross income (AGI), or couples making $150,000—in addition to their children or adult dependents—qualify for the full $1,400 per individual.

Single parents with at least one dependent who earn $112,500 or less also get the full amount. Families in which some members have different citizenship and immigration classifications are eligible for a payment, if at least one person has a Social Security number.

The payments phase out much more quickly than in previous rounds—an individual with an income of $80,000, or a couple with $160,000, will receive nothing. Taxpayers will receive the same amount for each dependent.

If you’re still seeking a more concrete date on when the payment will arrive, you can always log on to the IRS “Get My Payment” tool. According to the agency, more than thirty-five million people have used the tool to get their stimulus payment status since it was updated Saturday.

Also, know that you don’t have to waste your days by constantly checking on the site. The IRS says that the tool “updates once per day, usually overnight,” and that worried individuals should “not call the IRS. Our phone assistors don't have information beyond what's available on IRS.gov.”

You can access the “Get My Payment” tool at www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment, and to use it, you will need to enter your full Social Security or tax ID number, date of birth, street address, and ZIP code.

However, be aware that some individuals will receive a message that says, “Payment Status Not Available.”

 

“If you get this message, either we have not yet processed your payment, or you are not eligible for a payment,” the IRS says. “We will continue to send the 2021 Economic Impact Payment to eligible individuals throughout 2021.”

Others will get a “Need More Information” message, which means that the stimulus check was returned to the IRS because the post office was unable to deliver it. If your address has recently changed, the best way to update it is to “file your 2020 tax return with your current address, if you haven’t already done so. Once we receive your current address, we will reissue your payment,” the IRS noted.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.