Americans can get coronavirus stimulus payments faster with newly launched IRS site

WASHINGTON — Americans can speed up delivery of their coronavirus assistance payout through a new IRS website that launched Wednesday. The site allows them to provide bank account details needed to receive electronic payment, and also to check when the payment will arrive.

While some people logged in easily Wednesday and entered their bank account information or received a timeline for when their money would arrive, there were also reports from others who encountered delays or difficulties using the site. Many were faced with a message stating “Payment Status Not Available” or found they were unable to verify their identity or update their information.

The IRS said it was looking into the complaints.

To use the site, people will need information from their 2018 or 2019 taxes to prove their identity, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said this week at the White House. The site also allows people who have already provided the IRS with direct deposit information to verify which account the government has on file.

“You’ll be able to put in your direct deposit information, and within several days we will automatically deposit the money into your account,” Mnuchin said. “We want to do as much of this electronically as we can.”

The first wave of payouts began Friday. Mnuchin said more than 80 million Americans were expected to receive the payout through direct deposit by Wednesday.

“We know how important that is to all of those hardworking Americans, many of which are at home not working at the moment,” Mnuchin said.

Congress approved the onetime cash payouts of up to $1,200 last month in the $2 trillion economic relief package, and the administration has worked to rush the cash to Americans who have seen their lives upended by efforts to curb the coronavirus. But millions of Americans don’t have direct deposit information on file with the IRS, either because they don’t normally receive a tax refund or prefer to receive a paper check. It could take weeks or even months for people who don’t now provide direct deposit information to the IRS to receive a paper check.

All U.S. residents are eligible for a payment as long as they have a work-eligible Social Security number, cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person’s taxes, and meet the income requirements. Those with an adjusted gross income below $75,000 (or $150,000 for a married couple) would receive $1,200 per adult or $2,400 for a married couple. In addition, they are eligible for an additional $500 per child under 17. Americans who make from $75,000 to $99,000 (or married couples making $150,000 to $198,000) are eligible for a portion of the payment.

Taxpaying immigrants will not get a stimulus check.

Social Security recipients, even those who didn’t file taxes in 2018 or 2019, should receive the money automatically. The IRS will use information on file with the Social Security Administration.

The new site is separate from the portal created Friday to allow people who do not normally have to file taxes to provide the IRS with their direct deposit information. That site is largely targeted at low-income people, the homeless and others who, it is feared, may fall through the cracks with this relief package. It should be used by people whose gross income did not exceed $12,200 for an individual or $24,400 for married couples for 2019 and who were not otherwise required to file a federal income tax return for 2019 and didn’t plan to.