- If your coronavirus stimulus payment hasn't landed, a glitch with your tax preparation service could be to blame, according to one new report.
- Because of the way those payments are structured, the IRS may not have your current bank account information on record.
- Here's what we know now about who is affected.
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Wondering where your coronavirus stimulus payment is? The delay could be due to a glitch related to your tax preparation service.
A new report from The Washington Post on Thursday estimates that millions of Americans could still be waiting to see their stimulus money if they previously filed their taxes with companies such as H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt and TurboTax.
Those companies offer services where consumers can get refunds due from their tax returns immediately for a fee. The money is often provided through debit cards that are attached to temporary bank accounts.
The government is using that information from past tax years, particularly 2018 and 2019, to send the one-time stimulus payments. Consequently, the IRS may not have those individuals' direct deposit information on file to make the payments.
Admittedly, this would only affect a portion of these companies' clients, those who opt for what's known as refund anticipation loans.
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The Treasury Department is urging consumers who used these types of advances for their 2018 or 2019 tax filings to access the Get My Payment web app to enter their direct deposit information, a spokeswoman for the agency said.
In addition to your bank account information, you will also need to know the amount of your last tax refund.
The new web app was difficult for many individuals to access when it first went live this week because of high volume. So far, it has successfully captured the direct deposit information for millions of Americans, the spokeswoman said.
In a statement, TurboTax, which is owned by Intuit Inc., denied this issue is a problem for its customers.
"The bank account information for TurboTax filers is transmitted to the IRS as a part of the tax return," said TurboTax spokeswoman Ashley McMahon. "The IRS has the appropriate banking information for all TurboTax filers, which can be used by them to distribute stimulus payments."
Some TurboTax customers have chosen to receive their stimulus payments through either a refund transfer or debit card, McMahon said. But that should not preclude those taxpayers from getting their money.
"Any TurboTax customer who selected refund transfer or a debit card that gets a stimulus payment sent from the IRS to those accounts will receive those stimulus payments without delay or fees," McMahon said.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Jackson Hewitt said the company is sending consumers with questions to the Get My Payment app.
"The IRS has not announced how it will send the stimulus payment to taxpayers who selected Assisted Refund (AR) and/or Refund Advance (RA) bank products during their most recent tax filing," a Jackson Hewitt spokeswoman said. "We are directing clients to Get My Payment to find their payment status, type and whether the IRS needs more information, including bank account information."
Requests for comment to H&R Block and the IRS were not immediately returned.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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Source: cnbc.com
