MD Residents: How To Check Your Stimulus Payment Status

Deb Belt
·3 min read

MARYLAND — Maryland residents are looking forward to the payment expected as part of a $2 trillion federal economic relief package intended to soften the financial and economic blow caused by the new coronavirus pandemic.

Some payments have begun arriving and a new website has been launched to track the status of your money if you have not received it yet. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Internal Revenue Service created an online portal, which launched Wednesday. The portal will help Americans track when the payments are likely to show up in their bank accounts or mailboxes.

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Through the "Get My Payment" tool, Americans can not only check on their payment status, but can also confirm payment type (direct deposit or check) and enter bank account information for direct deposit if the Internal Revenue Service doesn't have the information on file.

To use the tool, you'll input your Social Security Number, date of birth and address. The system will then tell you if your payment is being deposited, or if you need to enter banking information.

“Get My Payment will offer people with a quick and easy way to find the status of their payment and, where possible, provide their bank account information if we don’t already have it,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “Our IRS employees have been working non-stop on the Economic Impact Payments to help taxpayers in need.”

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the goal is to use direct deposit for as many payments as possible and avoid mailing checks.

Some Americans reported seeing direct deposits in their bank accounts last Saturday, and others started seeing deposits Monday. By Wednesday, 80 million people should receive a direct deposit in their bank account, Mnuchin has said.

But when the rest of Americans will receive their money will vary. The first group includes people who have already given their bank account information to the IRS for the direct deposit of tax refunds on 2018 or 2019 tax returns, USA Today reported. Additionally, Social Security beneficiaries who filed federal tax returns that included direct deposit information would be part of that first group.

The second wave of money could hit bank accounts the week of April 20 for a group of people who receive Social Security benefits via direct deposit but may not make enough money to be required to file a federal income tax return in 2018 or 2019.

For those receiving paper checks, the first round is expected to go out in late April or possibly the first week in May. The first checks are supposed to go out to families who have the lowest incomes — possibly those who make less than $10,000 a year, according to USA Today.

Unemployment at record levels in Maryland

Last week, 108,508 Marylanders filed for unemployment, the third week of record jobless claims. The Maryland Department of Labor says that a total of roughly 234,000 people filed for unemployment in Maryland from March 15 through April 3, more than the roughly 215,000 jobless claims the state said it received in all of 2019.

Labor officials urged all eligible Marylanders to file their unemployment claim online at http://mdunemployment.com. The online application is available 24/7 and claimants should file early in the morning or late in the evening for faster speeds.

During the state of emergency, the Division of Unemployment Insurance's call center hours have been extended to 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. To contact a Claim Center, call 410-949-0022.
Residents are asked to use the NetClaims application to file a claim online.

People filing a claim can e-mail questions to ui.inquiry@maryland.gov and employers can e-mail questions to dluiemployerassistance-labor@maryland.gov. Claims may only be filed by phone or online; claims cannot be filed by e-mail.

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This article originally appeared on the Annapolis Patch