IRS Says Some Will Not Receive Their Stimulus Checks Automatically

The Internal Revenue Service has announced that some taxpayers will not receive their coronavirus stimulus checks automatically by direct deposit or by mail.

Some taxpayers using the IRS’s Get My Payment app may have seen a message that says “Payment Status #2 – Not Available.”  According to CNBC, individuals and families who received the message will have to file their 2020 taxes to get the payment, even if they received the first coronavirus stimulus check with no issues.

“The IRS advises people that if they don’t receive their Economic Impact Payment, they should file their 2020 tax return electronically and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their tax return to get their payment and any refund as quickly as possible,” the agency told CNBC.

A spokesperson for the agency could not clarify why this is the case, nor why this issue seems to affect those who filed their 2019 taxes through TurboTax and H&R Block. The agency began sending out the second round of stimulus checks almost a week ago and will continue to mail checks and send money through direct deposit until Jan 15.

Taxpayer who don’t not receive their coronavirus stimulus payment by Jan. 15 will have to claim the money when filing their federal tax returns this year as part of the Recovery Rebate Credit.

The amount of stimulus checks ($600) were half what they were in the first round. However, many can expect a third round of checks that were touted by Democrats now that both Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff won their Senate runoffs Tuesday.

The win gave Democrats a tie in the Senate, in which Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be the tie-breaking vote; Dems also control the House of Representatives and the White House. Both Senate candidates along with Biden and Harris are supporters of $2,000 checks that were touted by Trump last week.

Mitch McConnell refused to sign off on the checks, but now that he’ll be the Senate minority leader there is little he can do about it.