- Millions of Americans have been waiting for their coronavirus stimulus checks to arrive, and the next wave of IRS payments is set to go out on Thursday, April 30.
- Here’s how to check if you’re getting a stimulus check, and when it’s estimated to arrive.
- The payments stem from the coronavirus pandemic and the $2.2 trillion emergency stimulus legislation Congress passed in March to deal with the economic fallout from the virus.
- Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.
To underscore what a historic and unusual moment this is right now for the US, not only are most Americans eligible for direct cash payments from the federal government to help blunt some of the financial pain associated with the coronavirus pandemic — it seems that money is also being accompanied by a one-page letter from President Trump.
Along with the checks, the next big wave of which goes out tomorrow, Americans have started reporting the arrival of a letter on White House stationery from the president, which somberly promises that: “As we wage total war on this invisible enemy, we are also working around the clock to protect hardworking Americans like you from the consequences of the economic shutdown. We are fully committed to ensuring that you and your family have the support you need to get through this time.” At the bottom is Trump’s signature, in his familiar, idiosyncratic scrawl.
Needless to say, former IRS taxpayer advocate Nina Olson told USA Today that the letter is “unbelievable” and makes it look like the tax agency “is the handmaiden of one administration and one party.”
Of course, the forthcoming checks themselves are just as extraordinary, in their own right, for reasons that include the size of the payments (up to $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for married couples, plus $500 for each child) as well as how they came about — via an unprecedented $2.2 trillion piece of emergency stimulus legislation Congress passed at the end of March.
As of the end of last week, the IRS had already sent out 88.1 million stimulus checks totaling some $157 billion so far. That means the tax agency, at this point, is a little more than halfway through the task of sending out an estimated 150 million stimulus payments by the time this is all over — but the remaining checks won’t be sent out as quickly as those in the first waves.
We’ve now moved into the paper check phase of the money disbursements, with the IRS set to mail out the next wave of paper checks (to people who did not provide the agency with their direct deposit banking information) on Thursday. And each week going forward, through September, another wave of both paper checks and some additional waves of payments made by direct deposit will be sent out.
The IRS has a stimulus check tracker web tool available here that you can use to see how much money you’re getting, along with when it’s estimated to arrive.
