Still Haven’t Received Your Stimulus Payment? Here’s What You Can Do About It

By now, the majority of American’s who were eligible to receive an Economic Impact Payment or stimulus payment as part of the coronavirus relief package have received their payment.

The CARES Act is meant to provide economic relief to Americans out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic by providing those eligible with a $1,200 one time payment, $2,400 for couples that file jointly. But, if you’re one of the frustrated Americans who have not received their payment, you are not alone. It’s estimated that 30-35 million checks have not yet been sent, according to HuffPost.

If you’re wondering where your payment might be, there are several things you can do to find out.

You can log into the Get My Payment portal on the Internal Revenue Service’s website. If the portal says that status is not available, verify whether or not you qualify. You do not qualify if you can be claimed on someone else’s taxes as a dependent, if you do not have a valid social security number, or are incarcerated.

If you haven’t filed a tax return recently, you need to take action in order to receive the stimulus payment. You need to log onto the non-filers portal on the IRS’ website and add in your information. Reasons you will need to enter your information in the non-filers portal are if you make less than $12,200, you file a joint return, and your income is less than $24,400, or you have no income.

If you received your payment, but your check was lost, stolen, or destroyed, you need to contact the IRS to put a tracer on it. To initiate a tracer, you can call the IRS at 800-919-9835, or you can fill out Form 3911 on the IRS website. You would take the same step if you received the Notice 1444 in the mail saying your payment was issued, but you haven’t received it.

If the check was not cashed, a new check will be issued. If you find the original check, it does need to be returned to the IRS.

If the check was cashed, the Bureau of Fiscal Services will send you a claim along with a copy of the cashed check. You fill out the claim, and then the BFS will review it before issuing you a new check.