Americans To Start Receiving $1,200 Stimulus Checks On Wednesday, Married Couples To Get $2,400

The Internal Revenue Service announced on Friday that some stimulus payments will start going out next week, beginning with those who filed their filed tax returns for 2018 or 2019 and have authorized direct deposit. While these individuals will reportedly see their $1,200 stimulus checks in their bank accounts on Wednesday, others—who did not provide banking information when filing their tax returns—might have to wait weeks or even months to get the money.

According to Politico, paper checks for American citizens without direct deposit will only start going out early next month, with some taking up to five months to reach their recipients. During a White House press briefing earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin revealed a vague schedule for the stimulus payment rollouts, saying: "If we have your [bank] information you’ll get it within two weeks. Social Security, you’ll get it very quickly after that. If we don’t have your information you’ll have a simple web portal, we’ll upload it. If we don’t have that, we’ll send you checks in the mail." According to The Washington Post, he added that "in this environment, we don’t want to send checks and we want to put money directly into [taxpayers'] accounts."

The initial phase of the rollout involves clearing the direct deposit payments, with banks expecting a Treasury Department transmission Friday to confirm the money will reach the right accounts. The IRS will then on Monday start processing the payments—which is up to $1,200 for individuals, $2,400 for couples, and an extra $500 for children—following which people can reportedly expect to see the money in their bank accounts on Wednesday. "That timeline is the update I am aware of and is accurate," an industry source said on Thursday while another stated that the information was "based on conversations with Treasury."

Meanwhile, according to CNN, on Friday the IRS also launched a new tool to help low-income people who aren't normally required to file returns submit basic personal information to the agency—including Social Security numbers and bank-routing information—so that they can receive the stimulus money. The agency reportedly hopes to expedite more payments with the application "Get My Payment" according to the industry sources, the IRS will have to mail about 5 million checks weekly over 20 weeks to get the stimulus to the estimated 100 million Americans who don’t have direct deposit.

However, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about how individuals without bank accounts will access their money once they get the checks. Some banks have refused to accommodate non-customers, reportedly citing social distancing guidelines and fraud concerns. This could force low-income Americans to turn to expensive check-cashing services, which would only add to their financial troubles.

Additionally, not every American is eligible for the stimulus payment. Individuals with incomes above $75,000—or $150,000 for couples—do not qualify for the one-time payments under the CARES Act which was signed into law by President Trump late last month. Neither does single filers earning over $99,000, head-of-household filers with only one child who earn more than $146,500, or joint filers without children who earn more than $198,000. Americans who made under $75,000 will receive a one-time payment of $1,200 while couples who made $150,000 will receive $2,400, with an extra $500 for each child.