$1,400 Stimulus Payments Hit Bank Accounts -- Use This Tool to Find Out Where Yours Is

Want to know when your $1,400 check is arriving? Read on to learn about the IRS tool that will help track your stimulus payment.

On the weekend of March 13, the IRS began distributing stimulus checks. This is the third payment sent out by the federal government and it was authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act. The payments will be $1,400 per eligible adult and eligible dependents.

Not everyone received their payment during this first weekend, however. And if you weren't one of the many Americans who saw money deposited into your bank account, the IRS has developed an online website that you can use to find out where your stimulus check is.

How to find the status of your third stimulus payment

To determine where your third stimulus payment is, you can use the IRS's Get My Payment tool. You will need to provide some basic information, including:

• Your Social Security number
• Your date of birth
• Your street address
• Your zip code

Once you've provided your information, you'll see one of several different messages:

• Payment Status: If your payment has been processed, the Get My Payment tool will specify whether the payment has been sent yet, the date it was issued, and how it was sent -- either via direct deposit or physical mail.
• Payment Not Available: This message either means that the IRS hasn't yet processed your payment or that you aren't eligible to receive one.
• Need More Information: This means the postal service attempted but failed to deliver your check and has returned it to the IRS. If you see this message, you can use the IRS online tool to provide your bank account details so the IRS can deposit your payment.

The IRS Get My Payment tool is updated once per day, so there's no need to check back multiple times daily if your payment hasn't been processed yet. You will not see the amount of your check, only whether it has been sent.

The tool also only has information for the third stimulus check -- you will no longer see details about either the first or second direct payments. If you did not receive either of those, you will need to file a 2020 tax return to claim your funds.

When will your payment be delivered?

The Get My Payment tool is the best source of information about when your specific payment will arrive. However, there is also a general order in which the IRS will distribute stimulus payments:

• Taxpayers who provided their bank information to the IRS directly (generally via a 2019 or 2020 tax return) will receive their payments first.
• The IRS will next distribute payments to individuals whose bank information is on file from other government agencies.
• The agency expects to begin mailing paper checks by late March to those who do not have their direct deposit information on file.
• Finally, those who will receive their Economic Impact Payment via debit card will be among the last group to receive their money.

It's also important to note that you are not necessarily guaranteed to get a payment in this third round of checks, even if you received the first two stimulus payments authorized by legislation passed in 2020.

The American Rescue Plan provides full payments of the third stimulus check to individuals with incomes under $75,000 and to married joint filers with incomes under $150,000 -- just as both of the prior two stimulus payments did.

However, while the first two checks phased out eligibility slowly at a rate of $5 per $100 above these income thresholds, the third check is not available at all to individuals with incomes over $80,000 or married joint filers with incomes above $160,000.

If you experienced an income drop in 2020 that makes you eligible for the third stimulus payment but your 2019 returns show an income above this cutoff level, it's important to file your tax return as soon as possible so you can get your stimulus money ASAP.