Millions of ‘Economic Impact Payments’ or stimulus checks are they are more commonly known never reached their destination, while in some cases, they did arrive but without the $500 per dependent child as promised in the CARES Act passed at the end of March. Of course, mistakes happen – some payments were made to people who were deceased, or to people not registered as residents in the U.S. Some claimants received a confirmation letter, but no money…

Those people eligible to receive payments in the first round were issued a ‘Notice 1444’ letter to confirm so. This was mailed within 15 days of the payment being made and gave information of the amount of money and how it was going to be paid (direct deposit, a paper check delivered by mail or charged on to debit card).

If you find yourself in any of the above situations, or have a similar problem with your stimulus check, then we suggest you do one of the follow three things:

• Consult the Get My Payment tool on the IRS website and check your status is correct and tax-filing information is up to date
• Call the IRS helpline
• Complete Form 3911 Taxpayer Refund Statement and submit to your local IRS center 

If you are not sure when your direct deposit payment should have been paid into your bank account, you can find out what has happened to it by consulting the IRS Get My Payment tool. If a week has passed since that date your payment was due and you still have not received it then first try contacting your bank – in some cases, any incoming money may have been deducted to pay off outstanding debts. If the problem lies elsewhere then you can call the IRS helpline to see what has happened.

Waiting for more than a month for a paper stimulus check to arrive

If you have been informed that you are due to receive a paper stimulus check but four weeks (nine weeks for those abroad) have passed since it was expected to arrive, again, see if the Get My Payment tool can shed some light on why it has not been delivered to your home. More address information may be required, you may have typed your address or bank account details wrong.

The United States Postal Service allows you to trace your mailed check by using the Informed Delivery system, if available for your address. If this does not provide the necessary information then you can contact the IRS and ask for them to track the delivery.

If you are one of those not required to file a tax return, you have until 15 October to sign up on the IRS non-filers tool

See also

U.S. Senate racing against the clock over stimulus package

Second stimulus check: how much would HEALS give dependents?

Stimulus check requirements under Democrats' HEROES Act