23 Mar 2021 Economic Impact Payments Issued This Week
On March 22, 2021, The Internal Revenue Service announced that the next batch of Economic Impact Payments will be issued to taxpayers this week, with many of these coming by paper check or prepaid debit card.
For taxpayers receiving direct deposit, this batch of payments began processing on Friday, March 19 and will have an official pay date of Wednesday, March 24, with some people seeing these in their accounts earlier, potentially as provisional or pending deposits. A large number of this latest batch of payments will also be mailed, so taxpayers who do not receive a direct deposit by March 24 should watch the mail carefully in the coming weeks for a paper check or a prepaid debit card, known as an Economic Impact Payment Card, or EIP Card.
No action is needed by most people to obtain this round of Economic Impact Payments (EIPs). People can check the Get My Payment tool on IRS.gov on to see if the their payment has been scheduled.
Learn more about claiming your 1st and 2nd stimulus payments on your 2020 tax return.
Watch the mail for paper checks, EIP Cards
Taxpayers should note that the form of payment for the third EIP may be different than earlier stimulus payments. More people are receiving direct deposits, while those receiving them in the mail may get either a paper check or an EIP Card – which may be different than how they received their previous stimulus payments. IRS and the Treasury Department urge eligible people who have not received a direct deposit to watch their mail carefully during this period.
Paper checks will arrive by mail in a white envelope from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. For those taxpayers who received their tax refund by mail, this paper check will look similar, but will be labeled as an “Economic Impact Payment” in the memo field.
The EIP Card will also come in a white envelope prominently displaying the seal of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The card has the Visa name on the front and the issuing bank, MetaBank, N.A. on the back. Information included with the card will explain that this is an Economic Impact Payment. Each mailing will include instructions on how to securely activate and use the card. The EIP Card is sponsored by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service and is issued by Treasury’s financial agent, MetaBank, N.A. The IRS does not determine who receives a prepaid debit card. More information about these cards is available at EIPcard.com.
How will taxpayers receive their stimulus payment?
Taxpayers with direct deposit information on file with the IRS will receive the payment that way. For those without direct deposit information on file with the IRS, the IRS will use federal records of recent payments to or from the government, where available, to make the payment as a direct deposit. This helps to expedite payment delivery. Otherwise, taxpayers will receive their payment as a check or debit card in the mail. If the direct deposit information is sent to a closed bank account, the payment will be reissued by mail to the address on file with the IRS. The IRS encourages taxpayers to check the Get My Payment tool for additional information. Learn more.