Check Your Incentive Status With This Tool
Forget trying to call the IRS for your second COVID relief check – lines are clogged. As of Monday, their Get My Payment tool is the easiest way to find out if your new payment has been sent.
What the Get My Payment Tool Tells You
The tool isn’t perfect, but it’s the best place to start as the IRS phone lines are overwhelmed with demand. In addition, according to the IRS , employees on the other end of the line “have no additional information beyond what is available on the Internet,” so there is no need to call their offices for an update on the assistance screening. Here’s what the tool (should) tell you:
- Whether your second incentive payment has been sent.
- Whether your first incentive payment was sent (for people who received their first installment payment, the app will only show the most recent payment).
- Your payment method: direct transfer or by mail.
- The IRS sends payments on schedule , so if your payment schedule is set, the tool will show you the date.
What you need to know
- You will need to provide your Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number, date of birth, mailing address, and zip code.
- The IRS updates tracking status information once a day, at night, so don’t waste time checking it every hour.
- If you try to access the tool while it is busy, you can wait in line before you can enter your information.
If you get an error that the information does not match the IRS records, make sure you double check your information ( Forbes has a good tip: use the ZIP Lookup tool of the US Postal Service to find the standard version of your address and enter it. as specified in the mail service file).
If you want to know how much money to expect to get, use this calculator .
H&R Block or Intuit Turbo Tax customers may have delayed payments
If you are an H&R Block or Turbo Tax customer and do not recognize the banking information on the file, it is most likely due to a temporary pass-through bank account for refunds that was mistakenly assigned to your primary direct deposit account . H&R Block advises that they are redirecting payments to either the correct direct deposit account or your Emerald Card and this must be done before the end of the day. Turbo Tax says they are working with the IRS and will have money in people’s accounts for the next few days .
I received a “please try again later” message. What does this mean?
This means that your account has been locked after three unsuccessful login attempts within 24 hours. Please check your information again and try again later.
What about “ product status # 2 is not available “?
This means that the agency could not determine your eligibility for payment, although it is not clear what this means: you may not be returned to the tax return for 2018 or 2019, only recently filed tax return or provide information in a different location, such as the not applying, receiving SSA or RRB Form 1099, or receiving SSI or VA benefits. Unfortunately, according to CNBC Make It , this means you won’t automatically receive your check – you’ll have to file your 2020 tax returns to get paid . According to the IRS:
The IRS informs people that if they do not receive their payment affecting the economy, they must file their 2020 tax return electronically and claim a refund on their tax return in order to receive their payment and any refund as quickly as possible. On Form 1040 or 1040SR 2020, you may be eligible for a refurbishment discount . Save the IRS Letter – Notice 1444 of Payment Affecting the Economy – along with your 2020 tax records. The amount of payment you will need in the letter when you apply in 2021.
More information on how to claim your 2020 tax return rebate can be found in this CNET post .
How can I change my mailing address?
The IRA advises that the Get My Payment tool will not allow you to change your address. If you need to change your address, please click here . Also, if you’ve recently moved, make sure your new address is listed on the USPS and that your mail is forwarded.
For more information on the Get My Payment tool , visit the IRS FAQ page . This post was originally published on January 5, 2021 and was subsequently updated on January 7, 2021 to include new updates provided by the IRS and TurboTax.