New Batch Of $1,400 Stimulus Checks Are On The Way -- For Eligible Tax Filers

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said it has sent out a new batch of 1.8 million COVID-19 direct relief payments to Americans that Congress passed in March, Fortune reported on Saturday.

The IRS said it has started distributing the stimulus checks, with effective payment dates through May 26, in the past two weeks, bringing the total number of the latest payments to 167 million and a total value of about $391 billion.

Some of the checks, the report says, have been sent to people who previously did not have an updated personal or financial information on file with the IRS. If the tax service didn't know how or where to send the recipient a stimulus check, the payment would have been delayed.

The stimulus compensations were part of the nearly $2 trillion relief aid that U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law in March. Single filers who are earning up to $75,000 are qualified to get $1,400, while couples filing jointly and earning up to $150,000 can receive $2,800.

According to Fortune, no checks are being delivered to single-filer earnings above $80,000, or couples earning jointly above $160,000. Income was based on the adjusted gross income of a recipient's most recent tax filing.

The IRS advises people who don't usually file a tax return should file their taxes for 2020 today in order to get any benefits for which they are eligible, including the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit, the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, the Idaho Statesman reported.

In a news release on Wednesday, the IRS said it will continue distributing stimulus payments in weekly batches. The agency is now sending the money exclusively by mail, in the form of paper checks and debit cards.