Easy methods to Get Your Second Stimulus Cost Direct Deposited to Your Financial institution Account

By Nancy Carrillo On Dec 22, 2020

The leaders of Congress have agreed on an approximately $ 900 billion economic aid package that includes a second round of stimulus payments under the Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act of 2020.

The second stimulus payment will be:

A one-time stimulus payment of $ 600 for each person
A one-time stimulus payment of $ 1,200 for married or joint applicants
A one-time stimulus payment of $ 600 for dependents under the age of 16

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the first electronic stimulus payments could be in bank accounts within a week.

To qualify for the second stimulus payment, you must have earned less than $ 75,000 (for individuals) or $ 150,000 (for married / joint applicants) (in 2019). If your income is higher than these limits, the stimulus payment will be reduced by 5% of your adjusted gross income above these limits. This was the formula and income threshold under the first stimulus payment calculation.

If you qualify, how can you ensure that you get the second stimulus payment quickly? The key is that the IRS has account information for your bank account. Otherwise the payment will be sent by post and may be significantly delayed.

This is how you receive your stimulus payment directly

Depending on your situation, you will need to do the following to deposit your Stimulus payment directly into your bank account:

1. If you have already submitted your 2019 tax return with the correct deposit information

If you have already submitted your 2019 tax return to the IRS with your correct direct deposit information, there is nothing else to do.

2. If you have not yet submitted your 2019 tax return

If you did not file your 2019 tax return with the IRS, you should file it electronically with the IRS (unless you are exempt from social security benefits as a recipient as detailed below). There are some free websites that you can use to submit your return electronically. See the IRS recommended websites at www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free. Make sure to include your direct deposit information on this submission (where you will be asked if you would like a direct deposit refund).

3. If you do not have to file an income tax return for 2019

You do not have to file a federal income tax return for 2019 if:

Your income is less than $ 12,200.
You are married and register together and your combined income is less than $ 24,400.
You have no income.

If you don’t need to file a federal income tax return, you will likely have to wait for the IRS to open the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Information Here tool to submit the information for your second stimulus payment. (You cannot use this tool if you can be claimed as dependent on someone else’s tax return.)

Some of the information you need to provide includes:

Full name, current mailing address and an email address
Date of birth and valid social security number
Bank account number, type and bank code, if available
Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN) that you received from the IRS earlier this year, if you have one. Taxpayers who were previously issued an Identity Protection PIN but lost it must use the Get IP PIN tool to retrieve their numbers
Driver’s license or government issued ID if you have one
For each Eligible Child in 2019: Name, Social Security Number or Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number and their relationship with you or your spouse

4. If you are a social security holder

The Treasury Department previously announced that as a Social Security beneficiary who typically doesn’t have to file a tax return, you will automatically receive your stimulus payment straight to your bank account without filing a tax return, as long as the IRS has your direct return deposit information.

5. When the bank account that you included on your tax return is no longer active

If the direct bank deposit information provided on your last tax return is no longer active, the IRS will send your payment to the last address they provided for you.

The IRS Get My Payment tool and how to provide current banking information

The Treasury Department has created an online tool (Get My Payment) that can be used to submit direct deposit information to the IRS. Here’s what you should do:

On April 15, 2020, the IRS set up this online tool that will allow you to track the status of your Stimulus payment and provide your direct deposit information. (For more information, see IRS Launches Online Tool To Track The Status Of Your Stimulus Payment And Deposit Directly.)
Add the bank account number of your account.
Add your bank’s routing number.
Do not include a check number.
Make sure you entered the correct numbers. Entering an incorrect number can result in a significant delay in payment.

You can use the Get My Payment tool to find out the scheduled date you want your deposit to arrive in your bank account. The “Get My Payment” tool also tells you whether you want to receive payment by check and a planned arrival date in the post.

However, the tool does not always work and your request may result in a “Payment Status Not Available” message or may need to be modified to accommodate the second stimulus payment.

While Get My Payment gives you the ability to provide direct deposit information to the IRS, you cannot change banking information with the IRS if you already have an account on file. This is to help protect against potential fraud. You also cannot change your payment method if the IRS has already scheduled delivery.

How to set up a direct deposit

Provide the following information to set up a direct deposit:

The name of your bank
Your bank account number, which can be up to 17 characters (see image below). In the sample exam below, the account number is 2020202086.
Your bank’s “sort code”, which must contain 9 digits (see figure below). In the following sample test, the routing number is 250250025.
Do not include the check number (1234 in the picture below).

Do you have to pay income tax on the second stimulus payment?

You shouldn’t have to pay income tax on the payment amount received, as you did with the first stimulus payment.

Avoid scams targeting your stimulus payment

Criminals this year have turned their attention to the theft of stimulus payments. Much of this is due to identity theft, which is where criminals file false tax returns or provide other false information to the IRS in order to redirect refunds to alternate addresses or bank accounts.

Be sure to read Coronavirus Stimulus Payment Fraud: What You Need To Know where the FTC describes the following four main points to Avoid Fraud:

Only use irs.gov/coronavirus to send information to the IRS – and never directly reply to a call, text, or email.
The IRS will not contact you by phone, email, text message, or on social media with information about your Stimulus payment, or ask for your social security number, bank account, or government benefit debit card account number. Anyone who does this is a scam phishing for your information.
You don’t have to pay to get your stimulus money.
The IRS is not going to tell you to deposit your stimulus check and send them money back because they paid you more than they owed you. This is a fake check fraud.

Report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint.

Connected: How to protect yourself from tax fraud and financial aid to freelancers and independent contractors affected by the coronavirus crisis

What IRS resources are available for more information?

Check these links for updated information: