Americans are highly anticipating the release of the federal government’s coronavirus relief stimulus check, but the timeline as to when payments will be released has been unclear at best.
One plan outlined the first wave of payments were going to be dispersed Thursday, but all indications thus far show those payments didn’t come.
Officially, the first wave of payments should arrive in April, according to IRS website.
The IRS website says the agency “will start sending payments in April."
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has not given a specific timeline beyond the expectation that payments will go out “within three weeks". Mnuchin said that during a coronavirus task force news conference in March 29.
News outlets have reached out to the Treasury and IRS for comment on the timeline, but no spokespeople were available.
A payment schedule obtained by the Washington Post showed money could be deposited between April 9 and April 15, depending on how quickly banks process the payments. Several News4Jax readers wrote in saying they had called their bank and were told no payments from the federal government were processing.
Initially Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that was the plan but, in a House Democratic memo, the Trump administration told lawmakers direct payments likely won’t go out until April 13 and for those who only have a mailing address on file, it could take 20 weeks for all the checks to be mailed.
So people who already have direct deposit set up either through the IRS or Social Security could see the money in their bank accounts as early as next week. Another round of payments will be the week of April 20.
In the meantime, Americans are left waiting and with that, are forced to face an inconvenient fact:
You may not know when the payment will hit your bank account until it does.
A Democratic memo, sent out to House Democrats by the House Ways and Means Committee, offered a timeline for when the checks could reach Americans.
The notice highlighted that the timeline was based off “extensive conversations with the IRS and the Department of Treasury” and was subject to change.
Experts say, use this time to make sure you’re covered to receive your payment as soon as possible and know how much to expect.
For Americans eligible for stimulus cash under the new relief law, the fastest way to receive it is to make sure they’ve filed a tax return for 2019 or 2018 with bank information so the government can deposit the money directly.
RELATED: What do I need to know about payments?
Social Security recipients won’t need to file a tax return if they aren’t otherwise required to.
What if you never received a direct deposit from the IRS?
On Friday, the U.S. Treasury and IRS launched a free web portal for anyone who does not have direct deposit currently set up to put in their information so they don’t have to wait for checks.
The website is IRS.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here
This is for anyone who hasn’t filed taxes in a few years or is usually set up to receive checks.