Here’s How You Know You’re Not Getting a Stimulus Payment
Well, I just found out that I won't be getting a much needed shot in the arm from Uncle Sam. I'm not talking about one of the highly-coveted COVID-19 vaccines (but, that would be welcome), I'm talking about the latest round of money slated to be sent to Americans that are struggling because of the protracted national pandemic shutdown.
After ruthlessly checking my bank account and the IRS's very helpful "Get My Payment" tool - all I knew was that my entire family and I were eligible to receive the full $600 per person. I kept hoping that the website tracker would show some sign of either progress or at least a clear "no," but let me tell you - when they say they only update it once every 24 hours, they mean it.
Then, after obsessing for a few hours over the issue (as I am known to do) I stumbled onto the final word. Late yesterday, the IRS posted an updated "Statement about Second Economic Impact Payments," to their website. About halfway down, in the section explaining what the responses on the Get My Payment tool meant, I found this:
If GMP shows "Payment Status #2 – Not Available," then you will not receive a second Economic Impact Payment and instead you need to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 Tax Return.
That's directly from the official IRS website, which you can read in full here. With more than 68% of eligible citizens already on the receiving end of this thing already, time is running out. We'll still get the money, but we'll have to wait for our tax refunds to get it - which kinda defeats the purpose of rushing it out to who are struggling now, doesn't it?