The release stated that data was received on Thursday (March 25), and the IRS has begun the process reviewing, validating and testing it to ensure eligibility and figure out who will get payments going forward.
Without any additional issues, the IRS is expected to finish the process by the end of this week, the release stated. The payments will be distributed as they have been in the past, mostly through direct deposits or payments to existing Direct Express cards.
Many federal beneficiaries who did file 2019 or 2020 tax returns or used the Non-Filers tool last year were issued stimulus payments during the last three weeks, the release stated. Now the IRS is trying to get payments out for Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) beneficiaries.
Once an individual’s payment is processed, they can access the Get My Payment tool, although this will not be updated until this weekend, the release stated. Afterward, the IRS will continue reviewing data for those in Veterans Affairs (VA) programs, with those payments estimated to go out around the middle of April.
Many stimulus checks have been going out for the past several weeks, which prompted the National Retail Foundation (NRF) to estimate that there would likely be a surge in Easter spending as vaccinations also roll out.
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The NRF said there’s likely to be an average of $179.70 spent by consumers, which is the highest number on record. Around 79 percent of Americans will be celebrating and will likely spend more than $21 billion in total.
