Why haven’t I gotten my stimulus check yet?

The IRS began handing out the stimulus checks to those who qualify for one in April. If you haven’t received your stimulus check until this point, you ay want to check a few things.

First and foremost, do you qualify for a stimulus payment? The stimulus payments are made to those who earn less than $99,000 if filing single or $198,000 if filing jointly. If your income is above this threshold, you won’t qualify for stimulus payments. On the other hand, if someone claimed you a dependent on their tax return, you won’t get a stimulus check. You also must have filed a 2018 tax return since it is going to be what’s taken into consideration for income.

Do you meet all the conditions? There shouldn’t be anything on your way that prevents you from getting a stimulus check. Here are some of the common reasons for a late stimulus payment.

Not Enough Information on Tax Return

You can be qualified for stimulus payments all you want but if the IRS doesn’t have your bank information, you won’t get it. Since the IRS direct deposits the payments, you must have your bank account information in the IRS database.

Otherwise, you won’t get your stimulus payment until you provide it to the IRS. This is the most common reason why some people haven’t got their stimulus checks. According to a survey from 2017, about 6.5% of Americans don’t have a bank account. This makes it very difficult for the IRS to give these Americans a stimulus payment. If this is the case for you, contact the IRS and give your bank account information.

Debt Collectors and Errors

Another reason why you haven’t gotten your stimulus payment could be because you have existing debt that you haven’t paid for a while. The stimulus payments do not prevent private debt collectors from seizing your stimulus check as soon as it is on your bank account.

However, you still can get your money from the debt collectors. The most easy way of doing this is to cash your stimulus check without depositing it into your bank account. With that said, now that the second stimulus payments are on its way, do this instead of depositing it into your bank account.

There might also be errors that don’t show your stimulus payment. It is best to contact your bank if you have no debt, are a citizen, and qualify for the stimulus payments. The errors could be on your bank’s end or the IRS but contacting your bank first is going to be a better start.