Stimulus update: Despite glitches, $1,400 payments being deposited now; here is how to track yours

The Internal Revenue Service began processing the third batch of COVID-19 relief checks out on Friday, a day after President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion bill into law.

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However, as with the past two direct payments, there have been some glitches with getting the money into bank accounts.

Over the weekend, there were reports that some checks had been deposited in the wrong bank accounts, something that happened with the first two rounds of payments.

Others are reporting they either have their payment or have an indication from their bank that their payment is coming this week.

On Friday, the IRS announced that checks will begin to show up in accounts on Wednesday.

“Some Americans may see the direct deposit payments as pending or as provisional payments in their accounts before the official payment date of March 17,” the IRS said in a statement on Friday.

“The first batch of payments will be sent by direct deposit, which some recipients will start receiving as early as this weekend, and with more receiving this coming week,” the statement read.

“Additional batches of payments will be sent in the coming weeks by direct deposit and through the mail as a check or debit card. The vast majority of these payments will be by direct deposit.”

If you want to follow the progress of your payment, the IRS has reopened a tracking tool that allows you to follow the status of your money.

The “Get My Payment” tool was down on Friday and Saturday, but has been updated with the latest information on the third stimulus payment and is online now.

Here is how you can get an update on your payment:

• Click here to go to “Get My Payment.”
• Provide your Social Security number, birth date and address, then click on the blue bar at the bottom that says “continue.”
• Get My Payment will then give you an update on the status of your check.

Some may not be able to get the status of the check because the IRS is still compiling information about how checks will be distributed to certain groups such as those who receive Social Security payments, the agency said.

The IRS faced problems with the first two stimulus payments when some checks were routed to bank accounts the intended recipient was unfamiliar with. The problem happened to some who used a tax preparation service such as Turbo Tax or H & R Block to file their 2018 or 2019 income tax returns.

If the agency follows the same procedure it used with prior stimulus checks, it will be sending either a debit card or a paper check to people it does not have bank routing and account information for.

According to the IRS, a bank will return the payment if a person’s bank information is invalid, or the account has been closed. The agency will then send the paper check or debit card to the address on file for those Americans.

Cox Media Group