Stimulus Update: How to Check to See if You're Getting Another Payment

Make sure you know if money is coming your way.

Across the United States, many people are hoping for more stimulus checks to hit their bank accounts. This desire for additional payments is driven by ongoing financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including surging inflation that's linked to the prior stimulus payments as well as ongoing issues with supply chains that the pandemic disrupted.

If you are eager to find out if another stimulus payment could be coming your way, here's how to check.

This is your best resource for checking for more stimulus checks

To find out if you are in line for more stimulus money, your best option is to check with your state's Department of Revenue or whatever your state's tax agency is. You can find the link for your individual state's taxing authority from this list on the IRS.gov website.

The reason this is the best resource for finding out if you are eligible for more stimulus money is because future checks are coming not from the federal government but from individual states.

A number of different states throughout the U.S. have already issued payments or are planning to do so soon. And your state's taxing authority website is the best place to find out about what money is coming since most individual state payments come in the form of tax credits or rebates.

States are sending out payments because many have COVID-19 funds from the federal government that have not yet been spent. They are using the funds to provide help to struggling residents.

Some states are making these funds available to almost all residents within their borders while others have more narrow eligibility requirements. You can learn the rules by checking information with your local taxing agency.

Why are stimulus payments coming from the states and not the federal government?

The first three stimulus payments issued by lawmakers came from the federal government and were widely available across the U.S. Two of these payments were authorized under the Trump administration and the most recent under the Biden administration.

But since the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act in March of 2021 after Biden took office, there has been no consensus in D.C. about the need for more stimulus payments. Republicans were not even on board with the third payment and several conservative Democrats do not believe more money should be sent because the prior checks contributed to the current high rate of inflation.

Since no federal funds are coming due to a lack of broad support for them, if you want more stimulus money, you're going to need to hope your state is sending it. The resources above can help you find out if another payment is likely headed your way.