When to Expect a Second Help Check
COVID aid checks, totaling up to $ 600 per person, will be mailed today, and direct deposit payments began yesterday, according to Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin, who made the announcement in multiple tweets yesterday.
Taxpayers whose bank details are held by the IRS must receive direct deposits by January 4, according to the Wall Street Journal . People who have not provided their bank details to the IRS in recent years will receive their payments in the mail in the form of a paper check or EIP prepaid debit card .
Check the status of your payment
On the IRS ‘Get My Payment’ web page , you can check the status of both the first and second incentive checks, however this portal is temporarily down today – the IRS says the tool will be available again later this week, so check then. Until then, you can figure out how much money you will be entitled to with this COVID Assistance Calculator .
However, it remains to be seen how quickly the postage checks will be delivered, as some people are still waiting for their first relief checks a few months after the Treasury mailed them . While it may be too late for this round of checks, if you want to set up a direct deposit with the IRS, you can follow these steps . Also, if you have recently moved, make sure your new address is listed on the USPS and your mail is forwarded – then change your address on the IRS using Form 8822 here.
Good news for recipients of the unemployment program
It turns out that President Trump’s late signing of the COVID Relief Law will not affect the unemployment benefits for applicants for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs.
Since the law was signed so late, many assumed that benefits would end within a week of December 27, but the Labor Department explained that “it does not expect eligible applicants to miss a week of benefits due to deadlines. entry into force of the law ”. An estimated 14 million Americans using these programs can expect to receive benefits for 11 weeks through March 14, 2021.
There was also some uncertainty as to whether an additional $ 300 federal premium would be added retroactively to state unemployment benefits. The Labor Department has confirmed that the benefits will last for 11 weeks starting December 26, 2020 and ending March 14, 2021 or earlier.