President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan on March 11, enacting a nearly $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package with benefits including another round of stimulus payments, an extension of unemployment benefits and generous tax breaks to low- and moderate-income people. We’ve gone through the bill to help you understand the assistance it offers. We will continue to update this F.A.Q. as pieces of the bill go into effect.
The stimulus money promised under the American Rescue Plan began to hit the bank accounts of many Americans on Wednesday, March 17 — the first official payment date — although some financial institutions chose to make the cash available to people even before it arrived from the government.
Not everyone eligible to receive a payment will have received one on Wednesday, though. Treasury and Internal Revenue Service officials said the payments will be released in batches over the next several weeks, with some coming in the mail in the form of checks or debit cards.
The Treasury Department has been working with financial institutions to try to ensure that payments arrive more quickly this time around than they did last year.
You can track the status of your payment via the I.R.S.’s Get My Payment tool. Be aware that the volume of users sometimes overwhelms the site.
If you were in fact eligible to receive it, you can try to recover it through the so-called Recovery Rebate Credit when filing your 2020 return. Make your claim on Line 30 of Form 1040 or 1040-SR.
More than 90 million taxpayers have already received a collective $240 billion in stimulus payments — but not all of them have yet received the full amount they are eligible to get.
The Internal Revenue Service has an explanation, at least for some of them.
Married people who filed their returns jointly may receive their stimulus in two separate installments if their tax return includes something called an injured spouse claim — which a taxpayer can file for if part of their tax refund is withheld over a spouse’s past-due debts, such as federal or state taxes, child support or student loans.
In most cases, the I.R.S. said on Tuesday, the second portion of the payment will be delivered the way you instructed on your tax return — although it’s possible that one portion will be delivered by direct deposit and the other sent by mail. The second portion could be delayed by a few weeks, according to the agency.
Another batch of economic payments will be issued on Wednesday, which may resolve the issue for some couples. But for those still wondering when the relief payment may arrive, the I.R.S. suggested that both taxpayers on the return use the “Get My Payment” tool using their own Social Security numbers to check payment status.
It’s unclear how many taxpayers are affected or if there are other issues also causing delays. But nearly 7,000 people have found their way to a Facebook group titled Half Stimulus Missing/Received Status to trade frustrations and information.
Many other Americans — including some who receive Social Security — are still waiting, too.
Leaders from the House Ways and Means Committee sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration on Monday about delayed payments to people who aren’t required to file a tax return and who receive benefits from Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, the Railroad Retirement Board and Veterans Affairs. The I.R.S., the letter said, was unable to provide an expected timeline.
“Some of our most vulnerable seniors and persons with disabilities, including veterans who served our country with honor, are unable to pay for basic necessities while they wait for their overdue payments,” the lawmakers wrote.
An I.R.S. spokesman confirmed that the agency doesn’t yet have a date for when those payments might arrive. But those who did file a tax return last year or who registered with the agency’s nonfilers tool for prior stimulus payments should not be affected.
