How to Speed up Getting Your Pandemic Stimulus Check

Blank U.S. Treasury checks run through a printer at the U.S. Treasury facility in Philadelphia, Pa. William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

The federal government said it has started sending CCP virus stimulus payments to millions of Americans.

But for a number of Americans, the deposits haven’t come quickly enough.

“Millions of Americans are already seeing their Economic Impact Payments in their bank accounts,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wrote on Twitter on Monday. “We expect over 80 million Americans to get their money by direct deposit by this Wednesday!”

Single individuals who make up to $75,000 per year can receive $1,200 while married couples who file jointly can get $2,400. Children under the age of 17 are eligible for $500. Payments are reduced for people who make more than $75,000 for single filers or $150,000 for married joint filers, respectively.

In a way to speed up payments, the government has set up online means for people to update their information. Most people will automatically receive the stimulus payments without having to do anything, said the Treasury Department.

If you did not file taxes for 2019, the federal government will use your 2018 information.

The Treasury Department announced it will launch an online application or phone app for individuals to update their bank account information.

In a news release last Friday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), said the forthcoming “Get My Payment” app will allow millions of people who don’t normally file a tax return and who may not have bank account information on file with the IRS.

People in masks ride the subway in New York City on April 13, 2020. Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo

The app is slated to go live on April 17 and will allow some people to receive stimulus payments directly into their bank accounts instead of waiting for a check in the mail.

“People who don’t have a return filing obligation can use this tool to give us basic information so they can receive their Economic Impact Payments as soon as possible,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig, in a statement. “The IRS and Free File Alliance have been working around the clock to deliver this new tool to help people.”

And for people who do not normally file tax returns because they pay little to no taxes, the government has launched a website to expedite payments.

Social Security beneficiaries and railroad retirement recipients will receive their payments automatically, regardless of not having paid taxes in 2018 or 2019. They might have to use the web portal if they have dependents eligible for $500 payments.

“If Social Security beneficiaries in this group do not provide their information to the IRS soon, they will have to wait to receive their $500 per qualifying child,” the Social Security Administration said in a release. “The same new guidance also applies to SSI [Supplemental Security Income] recipients, especially those who have qualifying children under age 17.”