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Here’s when coronavirus stimulus checks will start arriving

Published Apr 9th, 2020 12:26PM EDT
Coronavirus stimulus checks
Image: ERIK S LESSER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

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  • The first wave of $1,200 coronavirus stimulus checks will reportedly begin going out on Thursday.
  • If you filed your 2019 taxes and provided a bank account for your tax return, you could receive a direct deposit as early as this week, or by the end of next week at the latest.
  • If you don’t get your $1,200, you can give the IRS your direct deposit details through a web portal.
  • Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

Millions of Americans have been laid off or furloughed due to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. Unless you’re able to do your job from home, chances are you’re not working right now, which is why one of the key elements of the US government’s $2.2 trillion relief bill is a $1,200 check for nearly every adult in America.

Sources tell USA Today that the first wave of checks could arrive as early as today. The 50-60 million Americans set to receive their $1,200 this week (or possibly next week — the government has yet to actually confirm a date) include those who have already given their information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by filing their 2019 taxes. Their money will be deposited directly into the bank accounts that the IRS has on file.

Debbie Dingell, US Representative for Michigan’s 12th district, says that Social Security beneficiaries who filed tax returns that included direct deposit information will be in the early wave as well. She tells those individuals to expect their direct deposits to arrive at some point during the week beginning April 13th.

Speaking to the press, US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin made it clear that timeliness is key when it comes to getting this money into the pockets and bank accounts of American citizens, but he has yet to offer any specific dates for when Americans might actually see the money. Last Thursday, The Washington Post reported that the plan was to generate electronic checks on April 9th and deposit them by April 14th at the latest.

“If we know where to put the money, we’re going to press the button and put it there next week,” said an IRS official to The Washington Post at the time of the report, though they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Most American adults who earned less than $75,000 will receive the $1,200 payment in full, either by direct deposit in the near future or via a check in the mail in the coming months, but not everyone is eligible. As we detailed earlier this week, there are many notable exceptions to the rule, including 17-year-olds and college students who are claimed as dependents, immigrants without Social Security numbers, and individuals with unpaid child support. The amount you receive will also decrease if you made between $75,000 – $98,000, and if you made more than that, you won’t see any money from the government at all this year, even if you lost your job in the last few weeks.

If you don’t receive your stimulus check in the next week or two, you will be able to provide the IRS with direct deposit details through a web portal that has yet to go live. We’ll let you know as soon as it does.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.