INDIANAPOLIS — The Internal Revenue Service is responding to a flood of calls and concerns from taxpayers who are eager to receive their second stimulus check but are running into roadblocks.
The IRS says there is currently heavy demand on the Get My Payment tool, which is intended to give you the status of your stimulus payment, also known as an Economic Impact Payment (EIP).
Some people are getting a “please wait” or error message due to the high volume of taxpayers trying to use the tool.
“We encourage people to check back later,” read a statement from the IRS. “Also, there is a limit to the number of times people can access Get My Payment each day. When people reach the maximum number of accesses, Get My Payment will inform them they will need to check back the following day.”
If you have not yet received a direct deposit yet, you could still get your second stimulus payment.
On Tuesday, the IRS updated Get My Payment for people who are receiving the second Economic Impact Payment.
If you checked Get My Payment on or after Jan. 5 then:
- If Get My Payment reflects a direct deposit date and partial account information, then your payment is deposited there.
- If Get My Payment reflects a date your payment was mailed, it may take up to 3-4 weeks for you to receive the payment. Watch your mail carefully for a check or debit card.
- If Get My Payment shows “Payment Status #2 – Not Available,” then you will not receive a second Economic Impact Payment and instead you need to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 Tax Return.
As WRTV Investigates has reported, some people in Indiana say their stimulus checks have gone into the wrong bank accounts.
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“Because of the speed at which the law required the IRS to issue the second round of Economic Impact Payments, some payments may have been sent to an account that may be closed or, is or no longer active, or unfamiliar,” said the IRS in a statement to WRTV. “By law, the financial institution must return the payment to the IRS; they cannot hold and issue the payment to an individual when the account is no longer active.
If Get My Payment shows “Payment Status #2 – Not Available,” you will not receive a second stimulus check, the IRS said. If you don’t receive your second stimulus check, you should file your 2020 tax return electronically and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your tax return to get your payment and any refund as quickly as possible.
“The IRS is working hard to deliver the second Economic Impact Payment quickly, as required by law, while still preparing for the upcoming 2021 tax filing season,” read the IRS statement. “Due to the compressed timeline, the IRS is unable to reissue and mail checks and instead encourages people to file their 2020 tax return electronically to claim and receive the Recovery Rebate Credit quickly as possible.”
The IRS is urging people to visit IRS.gov rather than calling the agency or their financial institutions or tax software providers.
“IRS phone assistors do not have additional information beyond what’s available on IRS.gov,” read the IRS statement.
