Stimulus Checks: IRS Posts Update on Payments, and They're Met With Loads of Backlash

On Saturday, an official Twitter account for the Internal Revenue Service directed Americans to its website for an update on their Economic Impact Payment, or "stimulus check." The link led to the IRS' general FAQ on the payments, with just a few updates added in. Users were furious, looking for more direct help with receiving the payments they now need desperately.

The IRS has been charged with distributing Economic Impact Payments to individual Americans through the same means it used to doll out 2018 and 2019 tax returns. Of course, for many people, the method by which they received their last tax refund is no longer valid, or at least is not the way they want to receive this much-needed government support. The IRS tried to accommodate these needs with a new site called Get My Payment, allowing Americans to update the address or banking information they had on file with the IRS. There have been some hiccups along the way.

#IRS continues to calculate and send Economic Impact Payments to millions of Americans. If you have questions related to these payments, see the answers we’ve posted online: https://t.co/UEMxTBNKNv #COVIDreliefIRS pic.twitter.com/BxAlYRcqU8

— IRS (@IRSnews) April 18, 2020

The first round of Economic Impact Payments went out via direct deposit on Wednesday, April 15, for those that had up-to-date information on file. That same day, the Get My Payment app began allowing users to input new direct deposit information rather than having their checks sent by mail. However, many Twitter users claim that after putting their banking information in on Wednesday, they are still getting updates from the site saying that their check is to be sent by mail instead.

The stimulus checks are intended to ease the economic strain on Americans as the coronavirus pandemic causes mass unemployment and the shutdown of many types of businesses. Some of those responding to the IRS this weekend said that they are unable to afford food, short on housing bills and otherwise desperate for the aid approved by their representatives in congress. Here is what Twitter is saying to the IRS' latest update.