Second stimulus check delay: When your payment could come and why Jan. 15 matters

Your second stimulus check is officially delayed. When Congress passed a new COVID-19 relief bill last week, Treasury Secretary Steven Minuchin promised to start sending out up to $600 per person a week later. The expectation was that President Donald Trump would sign the bill into law, and then the Treasury and the IRS could begin delivering second stimulus check money through direct deposit, followed by paper checks and EIP cards (more on that in a minute). 

But that didn’t happen. Instead, Trump has steadfastly criticized the “measly” $600 upper limit negotiated by Mnuchin — his White House representative in stimulus talks — and backed by the majority of Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Instead, Trump says he wants $2,000 second stimulus checks. He hasn’t made any public remarks about his intentions to sign or veto the bill. But the longer it takes for a resolution of any sort, the more detoured the timeline for you to receive another direct payment.

By Saturday, the weekly federal unemployment insurance lapsed. The eviction ban will follow, along with other programs set to end on or before Dec. 31 if Trump doesn’t sign the bill.

Complicating matters is an already short deadline for delivering the second stimulus check that’s baked into the language of the bill. The IRS won’t be able to issue stimulus payments after Jan. 15, a three-week window likely to leave tens of millions of people who would have to wait even longer to claim their money a different way. We’ll explain below. (Here’s where you can estimate your stimulus check payment, and read up on a third stimulus check in 2021.) This tory updates with new information.

How quickly would the IRS be able to deliver the next stimulus payment?

If Trump relents and signs the new stimulus bill into law, the IRS and Treasury could send the first batch of payments via direct deposit as soon as a week later, compared with the 19 days it took to set up the online tools and schedule distribution of the first stimulus check.

“Most of these will be direct deposits. We call them ‘checks in the mail,’ but most will be direct deposits,” Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday. “It will be within three weeks. We are determined to get money in people’s pockets immediately. So that will be within three weeks.” 

As of last summer, 75% of the first round of stimulus payments were sent straight to people’s bank accounts using direct deposit, the Treasury said, which brings hope for the majority of people to receive their second payment before Jan. 15.

In the chart below, we map out a possible payment schedule for the second round of checks, plus a projection if Congress approves a third stimulus check next year, after Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20.

Why is Jan. 15, 2021, such an important date?

This is the cutoff date in the $900 billion stimulus bill by which time the IRS and US Treasury will stop sending checks as part of this round of delivery. If you don’t receive your full second stimulus check money by Jan. 15, you will need to claim all or part of the missing amount when you file your federal tax returns in 2021. You can also claim any money the IRS still owes you from the first round of payments as part of a Recovery Rebate Credit at that time too.

How long could it take to get a second stimulus check in the mail?

Since the new stimulus bill sets a Jan. 15 deadline for the IRS to send out payments, people who will receive their second stimulus check in the mail — either as a paper check or a prepaid debit card — should look for a payment in the first three weeks of January, Mnuchin said on Monday. According to the Treasury, 22% of the payments as of last summer were made by paper checks and another 3% by prepaid debit cards. 

However, after Jan. 15, you will have to claim any money the IRS owes you with your tax filing in 2021. That could further delay your stimulus check, since the timing would hinge on:

• When you file your 2020 taxes — the deadline could be April 15, unless you file for an extension.
• How long it takes the IRS to process your tax return, which may also include your second stimulus check.
• If there are any complications that arise in your specific scenario that could further delay your check.

We’ll keep our eye on the situation, which is constantly evolving. Here are the latest second stimulus check updates and here’s how you can calculate your estimated total now for a $600 per person maximum.