Some stimulus cash will be delayed past April 7
The third stimulus program rollout — much like the first and the second last year — has a flip side.
For some, the extra cash that they spotted in their bank accounts around March 17 or March 23 is already long gone, spent on old bills or new things for the house or the kids.
For others, the frustration of not being the first in line — or not even knowing when to expect their money — builds and builds.
But some more news on those Economic Impact Payments, or that stimulus cash, was released Tuesday.
Another round of stimulus payments will be issued this weekend to Social Security recipients and other federal beneficiaries who do not normally file a tax return, according to the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department.
The projection, according to the IRS, is that the majority of these payments would be sent electronically and received on the official payment date of April 7.
The stimulus cash would be issued through direct deposits and payments to existing Direct Express cards.
But there could be a longer delay for some: “The IRS continues to review data received for Veterans Affairs benefit recipients and expects to determine a payment date and provide more details soon.” Some in this group could have to wait until mid-April for stimulus money.
The IRS said it received the necessary data from the Social Security Administration on March 25.
“The IRS began the multistep process to review, validate and test tens of millions of records to ensure eligibility and proper calculation of Economic Impact Payments.”
If no additional issues arise, the IRS expects to complete that work and to begin processing these payment files at the end of this week.
So people who have been upset that they didn’t get money in the first two batches of payments, which began in mid-March, now have some relief knowing when the money should arrive.
They likely won’t be happy, though, that they’ll need to wait another week. What many cannot understand is why their Social Security or other government payments arrive via direct deposit, but they’ve not yet seen stimulus money.
The third Economic Impact Payment program offers up to $1,400 each for those who qualify. Money began hitting many bank accounts via direct deposit on March 17. Others have begun receiving paper checks or plastic prepaid Visa cards, issued by MetaBank.
The IRS noted Tuesday that many federal beneficiaries who filed 2019 or 2020 returns or used the Non-Filers tool last year were issued Economic Impact Payments, if eligible, during the last three weeks.
The update Tuesday applies to Social Security, Supplemental Security Income and Railroad Retirement Board beneficiaries who did not file a 2019 or 2020 tax return or did not use the Non-Filers tool, the IRS said.
Currently, the IRS estimates that Economic Impact Payments for VA beneficiaries who do not regularly file tax returns could be disbursed by mid-April.
VA beneficiary payment information will be available in the Get My Payment tool at a future date.
The IRS has said it will automatically send a third payment to people who didn’t file a federal income tax return but receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits, Supplemental Security Income or Veterans Affairs benefits.