Yesterday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) launched its second tool, Get My Payment, to assist taxpayers with their stimulus checks. According to the IRS, as of mid-day yesterday, more than 6.2 million taxpayers successfully received their payment status, and almost 1.1 million taxpayers have successfully provided banking information.
But many taxpayers reported difficulty accessing the site, especially early in the day. The IRS issued a statement that “Media reports saying the tool ‘crashed’ are inaccurate.” However, in addition to problems accessing the tools, taxpayers, and tax professionals alike (including me) reported that they were not able to use other parts of the website, including e-Services.
Now, the IRS says that the Get My Payment site “is operating smoothly and effectively.” And, the IRS is actively monitoring site volume. According to the agency, if the site volume gets too high, users are sent to an online “waiting room” for a brief wait until space becomes available, much like private-sector online sites.
I have not (as of this morning) heard reports of being sent to the “waiting room” yesterday, but I did see and hear about users who received this “Payment Status Not Available” message:
The IRS says that users you may receive this message for one of the following reasons:
- If you are not eligible for a payment
- If you are required to file a tax return and have not filed in tax year 2018 or 2019.
- If you recently filed your return or provided information through Non-Filers: Enter Your Payment Info on IRS.gov. Your payment status will be updated when processing is completed.
- If you are an SSA or RRB Form 1099 recipient, SSI or VA benefit recipient – the IRS is working with your agency to issue your payment; your information is not available in this app yet.
So, that’s the official word. Anecdotally, taxpayers and tax professionals reported to me throughout the day that the status message changed. Some taxpayers said that they were able to access their information after trying a few times (which supports the theory that the site was overwhelmed).
However, the IRS says that checking in with the tools multiple times won’t give you a different result. According to the IRS, data on the tools is updated once per day overnight, so there’s no need to check back more than once per day.
There are now two tools, the non-filer tool and the Get My Payment tool, available on the IRS website.
As a reminder, only U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and resident aliens may be eligible for a check (non-resident aliens are not eligible), and you must have a valid Social Security number (not an ITIN). Additionally, you will not receive a check if you are a dependent – even if you file a separate tax return.
And one more thing: the stimulus check is NOT taxable and will not affect your 2020 refund.
Things are happening at a rapid-fire pace these days. As tax updates become available, we’ll keep you updated. Keep checking back for details.
