Good evening.
Since our April 12th update, we have confirmed that the IRS is only direct depositing stimulus payments to people who HAD REFUNDS THAT WERE DIRECT DEPOSITED. What this means is that if you owed the IRS money and paid that tax by direct debit to your account, you will need to go to the portal to provide your banking information if you want your payment direct deposited. If you do not provide this information you will receive a check if you qualify for the stimulus payment.
The portal is now online (having gone live earlier than anticipated) and the process is fairly smooth, once you are able to get onto it.
Please have your 2019 tax return handy for reference. If you have not yet filed your 2019 taxes, you will need information from your 2018 return.
You will need the following information:
- Taxpayer’s Social Security Number (this is the first person named on the return)
- Taxpayer’s Date of Birth
- Street Address
- Zip code
Once you enter that information, you will hopefully be brought to a screen that says you qualify for the stimulus payment. The next screen will ask for your adjusted gross income. That information will be on line 8b of your 2019 tax return. At that point you should be able to enter your banking information. You will need both the routing number of your bank or credit union and the account number. (If you are looking at a check please remember that the very last four digits at the end of your bank account number are actually the check number.)
Once entered you will receive a confirmation page. I recommend printing that off for your records, and write the date on it.
You can also check the status of your payment on this portal as well.
Hopefully this information will make navigating the site easier for you.