Stimulus Checks: When to Give the IRS Your Information for Direct Deposits

Some Americans may not be able to just have their coronavirus stimulus check direct deposited to their account without having to do anything. For anyone who falls into this category, there is now protocol for when to give the IRS your information, so that you can get paid.

According to C-NET, about 8 out of 10 taxpayers already receive their tax refund by way of direct deposit. If the IRS already has your information, you do not have to do anything to get your stimulus check. However, for the other 20 percent of taxpayers who receive their refund through the mail, the IRS had advised that it will have an online toolset up by April 17 so that anyone who would rather get their check directly deposited to their bank account will have that option. This will also be available for anyone who does not normally get a refund, but is still eligible for the stimulus money. C-Net also noted that the first direct deposit payments will be going out next week, for those who do have direct deposit setup already.

The online tool that the IRS is hoping to have ready next week, is called "Get My Payment." It will allow anyone who has not already previously provided their banking info to the IRS to then do so. This will help them get the stimulus checks out to taxpayers much sooner.

Next week, the IRS hopes to have available an online tool called Get My Payment to help you provide your banking information so you can receive your stimulus check through direct deposit. C-Net recommends that you have a few things prepared in order to provide the IRS your information: Your bank's website or app, and a printed check. Having your banking info available to you when accessing the Get my Payment tool will allow the process to run more smoothly. This is because it will be necessary to provide the IRS your bank account number, as well as your routing number.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin previously spoke about the timeline for the stimulus money payouts, saying on April 2, "I'm now committing to two weeks. We're delivering on our commitments. This money does people no good if it shows up in four months." He later added, "Social Security, you'll get it very quickly after [the first round of payouts]. If we don't have your information, you'll have a simple web portal, we'll upload it. If we don't have that, we'll send you checks in the mail."