If you haven’t received your stimulus check yet, it could be because you used a tax service to file your taxes.
Some people who filed their 2018 or 2019 taxes with popular tax services like TurboTax, H&R Block, and Jackson Hewitt haven’t gotten their stimulus checks from the Internal Service Revenue (IRS), according to The Washington Post.
The glitch occurs because the IRS won’t have users’ direct deposit information on file. Up to 21 million people could be affected by this if they filed through a tax service, the Post reported.
Because these companies receive people’s tax refunds and deduct service fees before they are distributed to individuals themselves, the IRS uses a temporary bank account instead of your direct deposit bank account.
The U.S. Department of Treasury is reportedly aware of the glitch.
People took to Twitter to complain about their situations, only to find that many other people who filed with these companies experienced the same problem.
https://twitter.com/Ecila37813745/status/1249730738284630016?s=20
Any one else use @turbotax and their Turbo card? They have informed us they aren't aware if the #stimuluspayment will post to the same account we used for the refund advance. I would like to know how its coming.. DD or check…
— maejellybae (@Ma3cry) April 15, 2020
Never thought my stimulus check would be halted because I used the emerald card through h&r block for my refund . .. No answers as to what's going on and im a little upset 🙂
— 𝕸𝖆𝖗𝖆❄️ (@RukiaKuchiii) April 13, 2020
A TurboTax spokesperson told Digital Trends that ultimately, the IRS is responsible for distributing stimulus checks.
“The bank account information for TurboTax filers is transmitted to the IRS as a part of the tax return. The IRS has the appropriate banking information for all TurboTax filers, which can be used by them to distribute stimulus payments,” the spokesperson said. “The IRS is responsible for determining taxpayer eligibility of receiving a stimulus and, if a taxpayer is eligible, how and when the stimulus payments will be delivered to them.”
H&R Block told Digital Trends that they are working with the IRS to smooth out any issues.
“The IRS has bank account information for all H&R Block clients who received tax refunds electronically, and is determining when and how stimulus payments are distributed. They have created confusion by not always using clients’ final destination bank account information for stimulus payments,” an H&R Block spokesperson said. “We share our clients’ frustration that many of them have not yet received these much-needed payments due to IRS decisions, and we are actively working with the IRS to get stimulus payments sent directly to client accounts.”
A spokesperson from Jackson Hewitt told us that they are committed to sharing the most up-to-date information it has received from the IRS.
“Jackson Hewitt does not have information related to the timing of the IRS deposits into taxpayer accounts, and the IRS will never send stimulus funds to Jackson Hewitt to distribute to taxpayers; the funds will go directly from the IRS to each individual taxpayer,” the spokesperson said. “Jackson Hewitt has outlined on its website how the stimulus money may arrive based on how a client received their refund, and Jackson Hewitt recommends clients go to the IRS.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment to find their payment status, payment type, and direct deposit information.”
Even among those who didn’t use a tax service, there are still reports from people that didn’t receive their stimulus and are having trouble tracking the status of their check on the IRS’ web portal.
Many have reported getting an error message on the IRS portal that reads “Payment status not available” after entering their information into the system, followed by “According to the information we have on file, we cannot determine your eligibility for a payment at this time.”
The IRS’ FAQ page says that this could be because you aren’t eligible for a check, you are entering the wrong information, you didn’t file your taxes, you recently used the Non-Filers section of the web portal, or you are an SSA, RRB Form 1099, SSI, or VA recipient.
Others have reported that IRS stimulus checks were sent to the wrong bank account — or even to dead relatives.
