projected timeline for sending the third stimulus check
The IRS handed out virtually the entire second round of stimulus checks in less than a month, starting December 1st. 29, 2020, two days after then-President Donald Trump signed the $900 billion bill into law.
Congress gave the IRS until January. on January 15, 2021, to issue the bulk of the 147 million payments so the agency can move quickly to prepare for tax filing season. after that, taxpayers were instructed to claim any missing stimulus money from the first or second round on their 2020 tax returns in the form of a tax credit.
The third round of payments came at the height of the 2020 tax filing season, and it was difficult for the IRS to send out all the stimulus checks in less than a month and process millions of returns at the same time. To give itself a break, the IRS has moved the deadline to file and pay federal income taxes to May 17.
Third stimulus payments are being rolled out in tranches or groups, via direct deposit and by mail as a check or debit card. The vast majority of all economic impact payments (EIPs) will be issued via direct deposit, the IRS says, and it will continue to send out batches of EIPs each week.
March 12
The IRS, through the Treasury, sent the first tranche of payments on March 12, a total of 90 million payments worth approximately $242 billion. Most of these payments went to people who had filed 2019 or 2020 federal income tax returns, or used the IRS online non-filer tool.
Direct deposit payments were payable as of March 17, although some may have appeared in bank accounts prior to that date. Although most payments were delivered electronically, Treasury mailed approximately 150,000 checks worth approximately $442 million.
March 19
The treasury began the second wave of payments on March 19; direct deposit payments are due March 24. the second tranche had 37 million payments, with a total value of $83 billion. As in the first tranche, the payments went primarily to those who had filed eligible 2019 or 2020 returns, as well as those who had used the IRS’s online non-filers tool.
About 17 million of the payments in the second wave were direct deposits, worth $38 billion, and about 15 million payments were paper checks, worth nearly $34 billion. another 5 million were prepaid debit cards, worth a total of $11 billion. The IRS has warned people to check their mail carefully so they don’t throw a stimulus payment out in the junk mail.
March 26
The IRS began sending supplemental payments to people whose stimulus checks were based on their 2019 tax return, but whose 2020 return showed they were eligible for a larger payment. The payments also went to people the IRS previously had no information about, but who filed a tax return in 2020. Official payment date: March 31. this third batch includes more than 4 million payments, with a total value of more than $10 billion. about half was sent by direct deposit and the other half by paper check.
April 2
Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Railroad Retirement Board recipients who did not file a 2019 or 2020 tax return, and did not use the IRS Non-Filer Tool for previous rounds of stimulus checks, they began receiving their payments April 2. This batch, which has an official payment date of April 7, included more than 25 million payments with a total value of more than $36 billion, the IRS says. the largest block, 19 million worth $26 billion, went to these beneficiaries.
Other groups also received stimulus payments in this round. More than 3 million payments, with a total value of nearly $5 billion, went to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients. Nearly 85,000 payments, with a total value of more than $119 million, went to Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) beneficiaries. In addition, the IRS sent more than 1 million of these “extra” payments, with a total value of more than $2 billion, to people who already received payments based on their 2019 tax returns but are eligible for a new payment. or bigger. payment based on your recently processed 2020 tax returns.
April 14
The Treasury Department says it sent two million payments worth more than $3.4 billion, due April 14, in the fifth batch of payments. about 1.2 million payments were sent via direct deposit and 800,000 via paper check.
More than 320,000 payments, with a total value of $450 million, went to veterans affairs (VA) beneficiaries who receive compensation and pension (C&P) benefit payments but do not normally file a return. taxes and don’t use the irs online non-filers tool last year.
Nearly 850,000 payments, with a total value of nearly $1.6 billion, went to eligible individuals for whom the IRS did not have information to issue stimulus payments, but who recently filed a tax return. Another 72,000 payments went to Social Security recipients who didn’t file a 2020 or 2019 tax return and didn’t use the non-filer tool last year.
This batch also sent more than 700,000 supplemental payments to people whose stimulus check was based on their 2019 returns but who are eligible for a higher payment based on their 2020 return.
April 21
the treasury, through the irs, sent almost 2 million payments, as of april 16, with a payment date of april 21. this set of payments totaled about $3.4 billion.
About 600,000 payments went to Social Security and SSI recipients, including those with foreign addresses. another 700,000 went to people for whom the irs had no prior information to send stimulus payments, but who recently filed a tax return.
the rest were “extra” payments to people whose previous stimulus checks were based on their 2019 tax return. These people received additional stimulus money based on their 2020 return.
April 28
The IRS sent nearly 2 million payments worth more than $4.3 billion, as of April 23, with a payment date of April 28. this 11th batch of payments contains about 1.1 million direct deposit payments (with a total value of $2.5 billion) and about 850,000 paper check payments (with a total value of more than $1.8 billion) .
just like the week before, most of the payments went to people who had not previously registered with the irs. the rest were “plus up” payments to those who had received stimulus checks based on their 2019 tax return.
May 5
the irs sent more than 1.1 million payments worth more than $2 billion as of april 30, with a payment date of may 5. More than 585,000 payments went to people the IRS had previously had no information about. the rest were “plus-up” payments to those who had received stimulus checks based on their 2019 tax return. About 600,000 of this batch of payments were made via direct deposit; the rest were by paper checks.
May 12
the irs delivered nearly 1 million payments, with a payment date of may 12. the eips were worth a total of $388 million. About half of those payments went to people the IRS had no prior information about. the rest were “additional” payments to those whose payments were based on their 2019 tax return and who later filed a 2020 return.
May 26
The IRS made more than 1.8 million payments, worth approximately $3.5 billion, in this EIP wave. The payments went to about 900,000 eligible people for whom the IRS had no prior information. It also included “extra” payments to people whose previous EIPs were based on their 2019 returns and who subsequently filed a 2020 return.