When will you get your $600 stimulus check? The IRS payment tracker is now online

Summer Lin
·2 min read

The Internal Revenue Service launched an online tool Monday so people can track the status of their $600 coronavirus relief checks.

The “Get My Payment” tool allows users to check the statuses on both their first round and second round of stimulus checks and find out if they’ll be distributed by direct deposit or mail. As of Monday afternoon, the page was responding slowly due to the number of people trying to use it.

The IRS announced last week that stimulus checks started arriving through direct deposit on Dec. 29 and paper checks were mailed out beginning Dec. 30, according to a news release. Most people will get their payments through direct deposit. Anyone who was eligible to get stimulus checks but didn’t receive one will be able to claim them when they file their taxes in 2021.

Payments will be automatic for eligible taxpayers who filed a tax return or people who get certain benefits, including Social Security retirement beneficiaries. They’re also automatic for anyone who submitted a simplified tax return or registered using the IRS’ Non-Filers tool by Nov. 21, 2020, according to the agency.

The $900 billion coronavirus package includes $600 direct payments for millions of Americans making up to $75,000 a year but is less generous than the $2 trillion CARES Act, which provided $1,200 payments for individuals who met that same income threshold.

Under the new legislation, individuals making up to $75,000 a year will receive $600, married couples making up to $150,000 will get $1,200, plus $600 per child dependent. The package also expands relief checks to include households with mixed immigration status, meaning some immigrant families will be able to receive payments in this round.

The Senate adjourned on Friday without voting on whether to increase stimulus checks in the latest coronavirus relief package to $2,000 — a provision demanded by President Donald Trump when he signed the deal into law. The hopes for larger stimulus checks are now in the hands of the 117th Congress, which convened Sunday.