STIM CASH SNAG

Turbo, H&R – again

TurboTax and H&R Block customers are reportedly struggling again to get their stimulus checks, but officials say the problems are less widespread this time around.

Dozens of people who filed tax returns through the companies have had their $1,400 coronavirus relief payments sent to the wrong accounts, according to CNBC.

A similar glitch plagued 13 million taxpayers in January, when the Internal Revenue Service initially sent their $600 checks to pass-through bank accounts that tax-prep companies had set up to receive the customers’ previous tax refunds.

The IRS says it worked with the tax-prep industry to fix the glitch and ran tests to make sure the latest checks would land in the right place.

While some money can be sent to closed accounts in any payment process, “the IRS believes the volume of payments going to closed accounts will be significantly less than any previous round of economic impact payments,” the agency said in a statement.

But many TurboTax customers told CNBC that their money was once again dropped in old pass-through accounts, while others said their checks went to accounts they used to use but had closed.

Several customers aired similar complaints on Twitter, saying their checks had been directed to incorrect accounts even though they’d tried to update their banking information.

“I updated my bank info for the second check, as requested,” tweeted one irate TurboTax customer named Kara. “You even sent me a nice little email telling me not to worry, you sent my updated bank info to the IRS for this 3rd one. This is the most toxic relationship I’ve had.”

Some of the confusion may stem from the timing of the $1,400 payments. Some taxpayers who filed 2020 returns that the IRS has not yet processed would have had their money sent to the bank account listed on their 2019 return, which would cause a delay if that account were closed, said TurboTax spokesperson Ashley McMahon.

“We have confirmed with the IRS that they have the accurate banking information from the tax filing for all TurboTax filers,” McMahon said in an e-mail. “If the taxpayer closed their personal bank account where they received a recent tax refund, the IRS may still try to deposit their stimulus payment there if it is the latest banking information that the IRS has on file for them.”

Some H&R Block users, meanwhile, griped that their checks were incorrectly deposited onto Emerald Cards, prepaid debit cards that customers can use to receive their tax refunds, CNBC reported.

But the company says those problems were isolated incidents in a process that’s been much smoother than the last one. H&R Block said on Tuesday that all stimulus payments headed to Emerald Cards have been processed.

“While there were individuals who had questions or needed a replacement Emerald Card, the systemic issue seen during the second stimulus disbursement was solved and was not an issue this time,” an H&R Block spokesperson said.

The IRS said any payments sent to closed bank accounts will be returned to the feds and reissued in less than two weeks.