Stimulus check delivery: How long would you have to wait once the new package is approved? – CNET

President-elect Joe Biden has his own stimulus plan that includes a second stimulus check, but Inauguration Day is still more than two months away and any new legislation will have to be agreed upon in the continuing bipartisan negotiations then pass in Congress.

Once instructed, the IRS would send out payments of up to $1,200 to eligible people whom the IRS considers adults over the course of weeks or even months. People who set up direct deposit would likely receive money first, then paper checks would go out and EIP debit cards loaded. Some people won’t qualify for another round of stimulus money.

The timeline for when stimulus checks will be sent out depends on the authorization date — we’ve sketched out a few scenarios below and you can also get a payment estimate with CNET’s stimulus calculator. If the IRS owes you a full or partial check from the first round, you have until Nov. 21 to file a claim and follow these steps if you think your first stimulus check went missing. This story is regularly updated.

When could I receive a new stimulus check?

These speculative dates show you when you might see a check — if a bill becomes law before or after Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, and bearing in mind Dec. 11, the deadline for Congress to pass the next federal budget.

Read more: Nobody can take your stimulus check away, right? Not quite

One important note about the speed at which the first checks might arrive. In August, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said it would take about a week to process the first payments. “I can get out 50 million payments really quickly. A lot of it into people’s direct accounts,” he said. 

But that doesn’t necessarily mean your stimulus money would arrive a week after a bill went live.

Why the IRS can’t send out all the stimulus payments at once

To date, the IRS has sent money to at least 160 million people three ways, starting with people the federal government has direct deposit information for. Some people with more complicated personal situations are still waiting for their checks or even for catch-up payments. This creates a de facto priority order that could result in some Americans receiving their checks days or even weeks before others. 

Read more: Estimate the size of your check with our stimulus calculator

The IRS has said it can deliver 5 million to 7 million paper stimulus checks a week, starting with people whose adjusted gross income, or AGI is less than $20,000, and then moving to people whose AGIs are progressively larger, according to the Government Accountability Office.

We expect the IRS will adopt roughly the same system for sending out a second stimulus check in 2020 or 2021 as it did with the first stimulus check, which was approved in March as part of the CARES Act.

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Next stimulus checks: What to expect

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Direct deposit recipients: People who already have their direct deposit information on file with the IRS or who provide that info when and if registration opens again should be first in line to receive a stimulus check. An electronic transfer of funds is faster and more efficient, which is why this group largely got their first payment faster.

Social Security beneficiaries: With the first stimulus payment, many Social Security beneficiaries who had direct deposit information on file with the federal government received checks in the first week, though not always the first day.

People who get paper checks: The IRS began to mail checks about a week later to those without direct deposit data on file. 

EIP card recipients: Economic impact payment debit cards are prepaid Visa cards the IRS sent to about 4 million people starting in mid-May. If the IRS follows the same payment priority order, this group could begin to see their checks weeks after the first direct deposit transfers take place.

People with more complex situations: This category includes people who received a check after June, are still waiting to receive their stimulus payment or who didn’t know they need to complete an extra step. Direct payments will continue through the end of 2020 for some individuals who weren’t part of the previous groups. Here’s what could be holding up the stimulus check delivery for some and how to contact the IRS to report a missing, lost or stolen check.

Millions of Americans are still waiting for their first check. This is why

While over 160 million Americans have received their stimulus checks, the IRS is still trying to track down millions of people who may be owed money, including for dependents.

If you think this situation applies to you, you may be able to claim your missing check by Nov. 21. This includes people who didn’t receive $500 allotted for their dependents, some people who are involved in child support situations and nonfilers who may be owed a stimulus check (including older adults or people who receive SSI or SSDI). Otherwise, you may need to claim a catch-up payment or error adjustment as part of your 2020 federal tax return.

If you’re a US citizen abroad or live in a US territory and didn’t receive a check as expected, you may also need to investigate. And a new ruling in California may bring hope for people who are incarcerated and didn’t receive the first stimulus check — or who received it and were compelled to return the money.

If you’re still waiting on the first round of payments, you can track the status of your stimulus check, learn how to report your no-show check to the IRS and find possible reasons why your stimulus check still hasn’t arrived. The IRS has said it will continue to send payments through Dec. 10, according to the GAO.