Coronavirus stimulus cash comes with glitches for some
Many Americans did not receive payments, or received an incorrect amount—here’s why
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As the IRS sent out more than 80 million economic impact payments by direct deposit during the first half of the week, an increasing number of Americans were experiencing issues with the process.
Some people who were expecting to receive the money this week either didn’t get it at all, or did not receive the $500 for qualifying dependent children.
In a statement to FOX Business on Thursday, a Treasury Department official acknowledged the glitches – noting that it is actively looking into missing payments for some who have used H&R Block and TurboTax to file in the past.
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These filers used the refund anticipation loan programs with those companies, which allows them to pay the company a small fee in order to receive their tax refund immediately – as opposed to waiting for it from the IRS. Because the fast-tracked refunds are loaded onto debit cards, the IRS does not have some filers’ direct deposit information.
The agency is working on fixing the problem, while urging people to check the “Get My Payment” link on its website, which allows people to track their payments.
Overall, however, the same official noted that the program has overall been both “expansive and successful.”
A spokesperson for Intuit told FOX Business that it transmits all of its users' bank account information to the IRS as part of their returns.
"The IRS has the appropriate banking information for all TurboTax filers, which can be used by them to distribute stimulus payments," the spokesperson said, directing further inquiries to the IRS.
A spokesperson for H&R Block also said the IRS has all of its customers' information.
"They have created confusion by not always using clients’ final destination bank account information for stimulus payments," the H&R Block spokesperson explained. "We share our clients’ frustration that many of them have not yet received these much-needed payments due to IRS decisions, and we are actively working with the IRS to get stimulus payments sent directly to client accounts."
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Meanwhile, The New York Times reported on Thursday that some banks were withholding the payments for customers with overdrawn accounts.
The payments are $1,200 per adult for those with adjusted gross incomes of up to $75,000. The threshold for married couples is $150,000, and couples are eligible for a total of $2,400. Parents are eligible for $500 per child.
The relief is intended to hold Americans over until the U.S. economy is up and running again. The federal government and state governments have made the decision to shut down many businesses in an attempt to limit human-to-human contact. As a result, many people have either found themselves without a job or with reduced hours.
For more information on the payments, click here.
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FOX Business Blake Burman contributed to this report.