Second Stimulus Check: How to Make Sure You'll Get Your Payment

With confirmation that a second round of stimulus checks will most likely be included in the next coronavirus relief package, many Americans are wondering how they can ensure that they smoothly receive their economic impact payment. Distribution of the first round of payments was inundated with issues, mostly due to the quick manner with which the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department worked to have the payments issued, but there is one way you can ensure you get your payment, perhaps even more quickly than the first one.

If you are hoping to take the appropriate steps now to ensure that you receive your payment without issue, your go-to resource should be the Get My Payment tool on the IRS' website. Launched in mid-April alongside the non-filers tool, the online portal not only allows the American people to track the status of their payment, but also confirm payment type direct (direct deposit or check) and submit their direct deposit information for those who filed their tax returns in 2018 or 2019 but did not provide their banking information.

While millions of people had received their first economic impact payment via physical checks sent through the mail, the need for further relief may be more urgent this time around as cities and states revert in their reopening as coronavirus cases surge. To ensure that you receive your payment as quickly as possible, you will want to access the Get My Payment tool and select to receive your payout via direct deposit. To do so, the IRS will request the following information: Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Tax ID Number (ITIN); date of birth; street address; five-digit zip or postal code; your adjusted gross income from the most recent tax return you filed (either your 2019 or 2018 return); the refund or amount owed from your latest filed tax return; the type of your bank account (savings, checking, etc.); and your bank account and routing numbers.

According to Forbes, if you have switched banks since the first round of stimulus checks were distributed, you will not be able to set up direct deposit at this time. Instead, the IRS will attempt to deposit the money into your previous bank account. Once the bank rejects the deposit, the IRS will issue you a physical check that will be sent in the mail.

At this time, it remains unclear who will be eligible for this second round of payments, and how much those payments will be. Given that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing to keep the package around $1 trillion, which would be significantly less than the CARES Act, it has been suggested the eligibility will be more limited than with the first round of payments. McConnell had previously suggested the income cap could be set at $40,000, though that number has not been confirmed, and it has already been met with swift controversy.