Economic Stimulus Payments to Be Sent Ahead of Schedule

After months of discussion it's finally time to start looking for your stimulus payment. Most people who filed a 2007 tax return will receive a stimulus payment between April 28th and July 11th. According to the IRS website, the payments will be sent out based on the last two digits of your social security number. For joint tax returns the first social security number listed will be used. For more information about how your payment amount is calculated see this article. You must have filed a 2007 tax return in order to get the stimulus payment, however if you filed late you should still receive your payment although it will be delayed.

Payments will be sent both via direct deposit and mailed paper checks. If you chose to have your tax refund direct deposited, your stimulus check will be deposited into that same account. For those people who owed money on their 2007 return if you filled out the direct deposit section on your tax forms as well then your stimulus payment will be deposited into that account. If you did not fill out the direct deposit section on your tax forms then you will receive a paper check, regardless of whether or not you had your payment to the IRS direct debited. If you have changed your deposit account information since you filed your return, the deposit will likely be returned to the IRS and they will send a paper check to the address on your return. If you have moved and are expecting a paper check, remember to have your mail forwarded so that you will receive your check in a timely manner. If you elected to have your refund split between different accounts the IRS will issue you a paper check for your stimulus.

For those people who do receive their stimulus check by direct deposit the checks will be sent starting on April 28th and should all be deposited by May 2nd, based on the last two digits of the primary social security number listed on your tax return. Paper checks will be distributed in 10 batches that will be mailed between May 9th and July 11th. The IRS website is planning to implement a feature that will allow taxpayers to track their stimulus check the same way that they could track their tax refund. There is always a chance that your payment will require further information or additional processing time so I encourage everyone to wait until you actually receive your stimulus payment before making any large purchases. For most of the country this payment will hopefully be a nice boost to kick off the summer. With the price of gas and food these days we can certainly all use a little bit of help, however it comes our way!