In the dark about your stimulus payment? You can find out more through the IRS portal.
IRS

If you qualify for your third stimulus payment and you haven’t seen your money yet, the useful Get My Payment tracker can help: The tool will let you know if the IRS has scheduled your payment or if there is some kind of delay. The IRS has sent out some 164 million payments since March, and there are still more on the way. You could also be eligible for a “plus-up” payment from the IRS if the agency underestimated the amount of your third stimulus check, too.

The Get My Payment tool should be handy for giving you some information, though it won’t tell you everything you need to know. If you want to track the status of your paper check or EIP card directly to your mailbox, the IRS and US Postal Service tools are a good place to start. If after that it appears like your payment has gone missing, it might be necessary to file a payment trace. We’ll help you navigate through these tracker tools, including what to do if you get a confusing error message online.

You can also read about the child tax credit payment, how to claim up to thousands in child care expenses and what we know about a possible fourth stimulus payment. You can also find out if you might be eligible for other credits and benefits this year and see if the state owes you money on unclaimed property. This story is updated frequently.

What can the Get My Payment tracker tell me about my IRS stimulus payment?

To get an update of your third check using Get My Payment, enter your Social Security number, date of birth, street address and ZIP or postal code. The tool will then display a message with information about your payment. You can see things like whether your money was sent or is scheduled to be sent, the payment method (direct deposit, paper check or EIP card) and the date your stimulus money was issued. It may also say it can’t yet determine your status — see more below about error messages.

The IRS payment tracking tool does not seem to give you the status of a plus-up payment, if you are due one.

What will the Get My Payment tracker not tell me?

The IRS tool will not give you hourly updates — the status information is updated once daily (usually overnight) — nor will it tell you how much stimulus money you’re getting (calculate here) or provide details on the first two stimulus checks approved in 2020. You won’t find steps for what to do if you run into payment problems.

The IRS doesn’t want you to call if you have payment trouble, either. The agency says its representatives don’t have information beyond what’s shown in the tool. Here’s what we recommend doing to address a stimulus issue.

What if I get the message ‘Payment Status Not Available’?

Don’t be alarmed if the Get My Payment tool gives you a message that says “Payment Status Not Available.” You may see this message until your payment is processed, according to the IRS. So you may not have to do anything.

But it could also mean you’re not eligible for a payment, according to the IRS. So you may want to double-check your eligibility and plug your numbers in our stimulus check calculator to see whether you’re due money.

What if the IRS says they ‘Need More Information’?

According to the IRS FAQ, a “Need More Information” message in the Get My Payment tool means your payment was returned because the US Postal Service wasn’t able to deliver it.

The FAQ says you’ll be able to have your payment reissued as a direct deposit by providing a routing and account number for a bank account, a prepaid debit card (the card must be reloadable) or a financial service account that has a routing and account number associated with it. The FAQ says you can also update your mailing address to receive your payment.

How can I find my money if the IRS tracker says my money was already sent?

If the IRS’ online tool says the agency has issued your stimulus money, but you have no record of it in your bank account and it never arrived in your mailbox, you may need to take one of these steps, including possibly filing a stimulus check payment trace. You’ll need to have the letter the IRS sent you; it can take 15 days for that letter to arrive in the mail.

Can I track my paper check through the USPS?

If your third stimulus check is going out in the mail, the US Postal Service has a free app that can notify you when it’s about to deliver your stimulus money from the IRS. Informed Delivery is a mail-tracking service that automatically scans your letters and alerts you to when they’ll be delivered. Here’s more on how to set up and use the letter-tracking service from the USPS to keep tabs on your payment.

What do veterans and SSI, SSDI beneficiaries need to know about their third stimulus check?

The IRS tracking tool Get My Payment is designed to share the status of your third stimulus check. People who receive Social Security benefits like SSDI and SSI and veterans who don’t file taxes can now see their payment status in the tracker tool. Tens of millions of Social Security recipients and veterans have already received their $1,400 payment.

Do I need to keep the IRS letter confirming my stimulus payment?

If the IRS issues you a stimulus check, it sends a notice by mail to your last known address within 15 days after making the payment to confirm delivery. The letter contains information on when and how the payment was made and how to report it to the IRS if you didn’t receive all the money you’re entitled to. You’ll need to reference this information if you don’t receive your full payment and need to claim your money later. Here’s how to recover the information if you lost or tossed the letter.

What if I never got my first or second stimulus payment?

The IRS is no longer automatically sending out the first and second payments that were approved in 2020. If you believe you’re still owed money from either of those payment rounds, your best chance of claiming those funds is to file for the Recovery Rebate Credit as part of the 2020 tax season.

If you’re eligible, you’ll need to know the amount of money the IRS allotted you, which you can find out online or from the letter the agency mailed. The IRS said the updated Get My Payment tracker won’t give you information on the first and second checks. Instead, you need to set up and check your IRS account for information on those payments.

Can I add my direct deposit bank details through the Get My Payment tool?

The IRS stopped sending direct deposits for the third payment on March 24 — unless you’re a Social Security recipient — but even before then, you couldn’t use the Get My Payment tool to sign up for a new account or correct details about your payment. Even if the IRS is unable to deliver your payment to a bank account and the money is returned to the government, you won’t be able to correct the details online — the IRS says it will send the money again by mail.

With the IRS officially extending the 2020 tax filing deadline to May 17 and delaying processing tax returns, trying to register for a new direct deposit account with your 2020 tax return won’t get you into the system quickly enough. However, if you haven’t submitted your taxes yet, signing up for a new direct deposit account could still get you any tax refund faster, and it could also help you receive other benefits quicker, such as a future child tax credit.

For more stimulus check details, here’s everything to know about the third check. Here’s every way the March 2021 stimulus bill can benefit you. And here’s what we know so far about whether a fourth stimulus check could happen.