Americans are collecting their first relief checks from the Treasury Department by direct deposit, sent to help ease the economic turmoil triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Payments are starting to appear on certain American accounts, a senior Treasury official told ABC News. The Treasury and the IRS have worked tirelessly to help hardworking Americans get fast and direct economic assistance from the federal government, a Treasury official said.
On March 27 US President Donald Trump signed an unprecedented $2.2 trillion relief bill directed at the financial effects of the coronavirus. It includes a $1,200 stimulus check for most adults, and $500 per dependent child.
Individuals with an adjusted gross income of less than $75,000 or married couples earning below $150,000 will get the full Economic Impact Bonus relief and those making more will have a reduced pay depending on their salary.
The Internal Revenue Service says that to calculate the number, it will use taxpayers' 2019 tax returns, or 2018 returns, depending on which ones were filed.
The IRS on Friday disclosed that those who already have direct deposit data on file from filing their income taxes will be paid in the coming weeks. Up to 70 million Americans will receive their checks around April 15, a Treasury spokesperson told The Washington Post.
For everyone else, paper checks will arrive via mail any time between today and early September. New filers are urged to use a new IRS tool to process their account information so they can get their one-time checks as soon as possible.
It took the government several months until the first stimulus checks were issued to the American people during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. This administration did so in just two weeks, Treasury officials said.
The US Treasury is doing its best to process payments for Social Security and help retirement recipients who didn't file a tax return in 2018 or 2019, department officials said.
Those on Social Security, disability, survivor compensation or recipients of Railroad Retirement insurance may also receive automatic stimulus.
Also Friday saw the unveiling of the non-filers web portal on the IRS website. According to the website, US citizens and resident aliens are qualified for funding if they had a valid Social Security number, could not be reported as another taxpayer's dependent, and had an adjusted gross income under specified limits.
On March 20, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin reported that the deadline for the filing and payment of income taxes had been moved back to July 15. Many that have not paid - and would owe money from the government - may use the stimulus check to cover the tax payments.
