Many payments were sent to wrong accounts

How to check if yours was one of them

For many Americans who used tax preparation services, the second stimulus check was sent to an invalid bank account.

H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt and TurboTax have issued statements informing their clients for the 2019 tax year that the checks may have gone to now- closed accounts. The misdirected checks number in the millions, they said.

The error affects taxpayers who used the services and opted to have their fee deducted from their anticipated refund. In such cases, the service set up a temporary account to receive the refund and take their payment before passing the balance along to the customer — and it’s that temporary account that’s on the Internal Revenue Service records.

The services say they are working to get the payments routed to their clients, but there is likely to be a delay.

People who do not receive their stimulus payment by January 15 are being advised to claim it as the Recovery Rebate Credit on their federal tax return for 2020.

To check the status of a payment, go to the IRS Get My Payment website. The payment tracker requires the user to enter a Social Security number or tax identification number, a birthdate and a street address.

The first payments in this round went out by direct deposit on Dec. 29 and mailed check on Dec. 30.

The maximum payment is $600 for singles and $1,200 for married couples plus $600 for each qualifying child. Payments will be reduced for individuals with adjusted gross income for 2019 above $75,000 and married couples above $150,000.