Next Round Of $1,200 IRS Stimulus Checks To Go Out Soon

The latest round of checks under the massive U.S. stimulus program is set to go out in the next few days.

The key groups who will receive these payments include people who aren’t required to file tax returns, such as those who receive Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and veterans’ affairs benefits. In addition, tax filers who have recently provided bank information to the IRS will get the payments.

The IRS’ Taxpayer Advocate Service offers information on the overall program. Americans can use the IRS Get My Payment tool to enter their direct deposit information and track their payments.

The first waves of $1,200 (for individuals) or $2,400 (for couples) and $500 checks (per child) started hitting bank accounts earlier in the month. First up were people who had filed their taxes with bank account information. The last to receive stimulus payments are those who require the IRS to send paper checks, which will take weeks, if not months. An IRS spokesman told PYMNTS that checks will continue to arrive throughout the summer.

Mike Cagney, CEO and co-founder of Figure Technologies, recently told PYMNTS that the slow stimulus payouts show why the U.S. government needs more “digital dollarization” to replace legacy systems like paper checks. “It’s something we’re very much committed to and trying to make headway on,” he said. (Read more of his interview here.)

The money can’t come soon enough for many Americans. PYMNTS recently polled more than 8,000 consumers and found that on average, they expect the coronavirus crisis to last until October.

The stimulus checks are part of the trillions of dollars that the federal government is spending to keep the economy from collapsing as millions of people are laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to continuing to sent out $1,200 stimulus payments for individual taxpayers, the U.S. government also restarted its popular Payment Protection Program (PPP) on Monday for small- and medium-sized businesses after the initial effort ran out of money. The PPP, which is is run through the Small Business Administration, gives businesses forgiveness loans if they agree to continue paying employees and avoiding layoffs for a time.

However, the program has come under fire for making loans to larger corporations even though PPP was originally geared as more to mom-and-pop operations and small businesses. But despite such ongoing questions, experts say the PPP is essential to keeping small businesses afloat amid the economic mayhem.