In accordance with the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, the Internal revenue service is now sending out 2021 Economic Impact Payments. The first batch of payments will be sent by direct deposit, which some recipients started receiving as early as Friday, March 12. Most will be deposited starting Wednesday, March 17.

Additional batches of payments will be sent in the coming weeks by direct deposit and through the mail as a check or debit card.

In general, most people will get $1,400 for themselves and $1,400 for each of their qualifying dependents claimed on their tax return. As with the first two Economic Impact Payments in 2020, most Americans will receive their money without having to take any action. Payments will begin to be reduced for individuals making $75,000 or above in Adjusted Gross Income ($150,000 for married filing jointly.) The reduced payments end at $80,000 for individuals ($160,000 for married filing jointly); people above these levels are ineligible for a payment. More information is available on IRS.gov.

Check when and how your 2021 payment was sent with the Get My Payment tool. You’ll need to enter your Social Security number or Individual Tax ID Number, date of birth, street address from which you file your taxes and your ZIP code. You will see one of these messages when you use Get My Payment:

Payment Status: A payment has been processed, a payment date is available and payment is to be sent either by direct deposit or mail. “Mail” means you may be issued an EIP Card or a check.
Or
You’re eligible, but a payment has not been processed and a payment date is not yet available.

It will not show the amount of your 2021 Economic Impact Payment.

Payment Status Not Available: The IRS hasn’t yet processed your payment or you’re not eligible for a payment. Need More Information: Your payment was returned to the IRS because the Postal Service was unable to deliver it. Only people who get this message can use the tool to give the IRS bank account information.

A warning: If you get this warning, your browser may be blocking access to the IRS website: “Access Denied You don’t have permission to access ‘http://sa.www4.irs.gov/irfof-wmsp/login’ on this server.” If you get this warning, use another browser or turn off blocking software that prevents the IRS from providing a secure connection.

If you enter information that doesn’t match IRS records three times within 24 hours, you’ll be locked out of Get My Payment for security reasons. You’ll be able to access the application again after 24 hours. Don’t contact the IRS for assistance with a lockout: IRS assistors can’t unlock your account.

Payments

Bank information for direct deposit: The bank account information in Get My Payment came from one of the following sources:

• Your 2020 tax return
• Your 2019 tax return if your 2020 return was not processed when the IRS started issuing payments
• Information you entered on your non-filer registration in 2020
• Information you entered on Get My Payment in 2020
• A federal agency that provides you benefits: This may include the Social Security Administration, Veteran Affairs, or the Railroad Retirement Board.

If your bank information is invalid or the account has been closed, the bank will return your payment to the IRS and we will mail it to you by check at the address we have on file.

EIP Card: The EIP Card is a debit card sent by U.S. Mail in a white envelope with the U.S. Department of the Treasury seal and a return address from “Economic Impact Payment Card.” The card has the Visa name on the front and the issuing bank, MetaBank®, N.A., on the back. Information included with the EIP Card explains that this is your Economic Impact Payment. EIP cards are sponsored by the Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, managed by Money Network Financial, LLC, and issued by Treasury’s financial agent, MetaBank®, N.A.

Previous payment information is no longer available in Get My Payment. See First and Second Payment Status for the $1,200 payment from early 2020 and the $600 payment from December.

If you didn’t get the full amount of the first or second payment you were eligible for, you may be eligible to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return even if you aren’t required to file. The third payment will not be used to calculate the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit.