Like millions of other Americans, you must be wondering why the Third Economic Impact Payment has not still arrived.
And a lot of people question why in the world the IRS would send the payment through the mail? When the direct deposit payment method is mentioned as the first priority in the tax return, what is the point of sending the check through the mail?
There were a lot of scheduled and missed payments for the past stimulus checks as well as advance tax credits on behalf of the IRS. However, IRS has scheduled the payments for the first week of June.
And if your payments are still missing, you would be claiming them in your tax return for 2021, and it will go through the whole process before it gets to you.
This article is for those who have received the message ‘We Scheduled Your Payment To Be Mailed On Friday.” Since the payments are being disbursed through the mail, most people have ambiguities about the timeline of payments.
We have structured the article into the most commonly asked questions of the EIP recipients across the United States.
What Is Stimulus Check?
Stimulus checks can be explained as the checks issued to the taxpayers to spur the economy and encourage money spending.
The U.S. government issues the checks to the taxpayers and eligible individuals so that consumption increases at the consumer end and revenues increase at the retailer/manufacturer’s end.
Recently, the government of the U.S has been issuing the Economic Impact Payment to the eligible individuals under the recovery plan of the economic downturn resulting from the COVID-19.
The payments were issued in three batches, and every individual or dependent received a certain amount from the government.
The Stimulus payments were granted to every individual under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and the payment was advanced for the tax year 2021.
What Are Eligibility Criteria To Receive Stimulus Check?
The eligibility criteria to receive a stimulus check for the third phase of the Economic Impact Payment were as follows:
You must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. Resident alien(and their spouse if filing a joint return)
You must not be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer, and
The adjusted gross income(AGI) should not exceed:
- $150,000 if married and filing a joint return or filing as a qualifying widow or widower
- $112,500 for the head of household
- $75,000 for any other filing status
If you think you fulfilled the criteria but have not received the stimulus check, you can contact the IRS and ask about the reasons for not receiving the check. Every individual had received $1400 as a stimulus check, and married couples filing jointly had received $2800.
Where is My Refund? I filed Return for Long Ago and Waiting For Refund Payment.
Most of the eligible Americans had received their stimulus check at the beginning of the tax year 2021, and the remaining would be receiving it as a plus payment in the tax return for 2021.
If you have filed your tax return and are not sure why you haven’t received refunds, it might be due to the backlog at the IRS resulting in delayed payment release.
You should contact the IRS if 21 days have passed and you did not receive any information about your tax refunds. Also, check your official tax receipt to know about the refund status of the payment.
When Will I Get My Payment Scheduled To Be Mailed On Friday?
Did IRS say to you that your payment is scheduled to be mailed on Friday? Wondering why they would mail you the credit check instead of direct deposit?
Also not sure when should the check arrive in your mailbox?
If IRS said that your payment is scheduled to be mailed on Friday, most probably they are talking about the stimulus check.
Why?
Because the IRS usually issues the refunds according to the method specified by the taxpayer. They have mailed you the check because that’s the convenient method for the IRS, considering a large number of stimulus checks to be issued.
Many people have received the check through direct deposit, and others have been receiving paper checks or prepaid debit cards, depending on the circumstances.
The time you will receive the payment depends on the postal service the IRS uses. In most cases, it’s USPS, so you can expect to receive mail according to the delivery timelines of the postal service.
How To Claim Missing or Partial Stimulus Payments in Tax Return For 2021?
After a lot of noise about payment delays, receiving checks instead of direct deposits, etc., finally, after the IRS had issued most of the stimulus checks, many people were still looking to receive their stimulus payment.
If you want to claim a missing or partial stimulus payment, IRS has specified that the tax filers or non-filers must file the return for the tax year 2021 to claim the stimulus payment under the head of Recovery Rebate Credit(RRC).
IRS did the same process by reducing the tax liability of individuals by the amount of stimulus payment. However, people who were not tax filers also filed tax returns to receive the stimulus payment.
Where Are Stimulus Checks For Veterans, Social Security Recipients, SSI, and SSDI?
Most of the eligible tax filers were able to receive their stimulus checks despite the delays and backlog. The delays were subject to receiving up-to-date data about payment methods and dependents from the relevant authorities before the issuance of the checks. The most suffered group of people were veterans, social security recipients, SSIs, and SSD.
According to the data specified, the payments were issued using direct deposit or mailing checks/debit cards weeks after processing. If you still haven’t received the payment based on tax years 2019 and 2020, you should contact the IRS and explain your case.
Stimulus Payments For Non-Filers and Dependent
IRS has been working to devise a tool for the non-filers and dependents to receive tax credits and stimulus payments conveniently.
The tool will roll out to conveniently enable the dependents and eligible non-filers to receive ETIC(Earned Income Tax Credit), CTC(Child Tax Credit, etc.) related stimulus payments.
How Long Will USPS Take To Deliver My Check?
Whether you’re expecting USPS to deliver a refund check in your mailbox or looking forward to a stimulus check, knowing the timeline of USPS delivery is important.
The US Postal Service has already rolled out a tracking tool for people to track their tax refunds through SMS and email alerts from USPS. You can simply track your refund and get your expected refund date information.
How To Track Your Check?
Here are two ways you can track your checks using the USPS:
USPS Informed Delivery
Since we talked about the USPS tracking tool, let’s know how it works. USPS Informed Delivery, as named by the US Postal Service, is a free service that will scan the incoming letter and send the image to the recipient according to the information on the letter’s envelope.
It works as the automated sorting equipment that creates a digital image and looks for the database to find the recipient if he has signed up for the service.
Every mail coming to your address after three days of activating USPS Informed Delivery tracking will be notified to you in advance. Finally, you will receive a notification from the USPS.
You can cancel the service anytime. Besides, you can install the Informed Delivery app on your Android or iOS.
Track From USPS Post Office
If you don’t feel comfortable about every mail coming to your address being scanned by the USPS, you can track your packages directly from the post office.
Final Words
We have discussed everything related to the timeline for receiving any stimulus check, refunds, or payments from the IRS.
In most cases, you will receive the payments according to the payment priorities mentioned in your tax return or official documents. If you opted for a direct deposit but the IRS sends you a check, you can always contact them and ask why.
