IRS says it’s working to redistribute stimulus payments sent to temporary accounts

The IRS on Friday said that it is working with tax preparation companies to get stimulus payments to people whose money was sent to temporary bank accounts.

The agency said in a statement that it has already sent over 100 million payments to taxpayers by direct deposit. However, some recipients who paid for tax-preparation services through their refund last year may have had their payments sent to temporary bank accounts that were established when they filed their 2019 return, rather than their personal bank accounts.

“The IRS and tax industry partners are taking immediate steps to redirect stimulus payments to the correct account for those affected,” the agency said. “The IRS anticipates many additional taxpayers will receive payments following this effort.”

The IRS said that taxpayers may not see accurate account numbers when they use the agency’s “Get My Payment” web tool while the agency makes updates and that they do not need to contact their IRS, their tax preparer or bank while the updates are ongoing.

The agency also noted that people who don’t receive their full stimulus payment by the time they file their 2020 tax return this year can claim a tax credit on their return.

Congress late last month passed legislation that provides for payments for most Americans of up to $600 per adult and per child. The Treasury Department and IRS have already sent out many of the payments by direct deposit and have also started to mail payments in the form of paper checks and prepaid debit cards.

Some of the people who haven’t gotten their payments yet are upset and have directed their frustration on social media toward the IRS and tax prep companies such as TurboTax and H&R Block. 

The IRS previously said that because of the speed with which it is required to send out the stimulus payments, some payments may have been sent to inactive or unfamiliar bank accounts. The agency had said that financial institutions have to return payments to the IRS that were sent to inactive accounts.

But House Ways and Means Committee Republicans said in a news release Friday that the IRS has come up with a solution that will allow financial institutions to accept deposits into temporary accounts and pass them along to taxpayers, though this will not solve the problem for every bank. The release said that most affected taxpayers should get their payments deposited in the bank accounts in roughly the next week.

TurboTax said earlier this week that millions of payments were sent to incorrect accounts because of an “IRS error” and that it expects payments will start to be deposited in the correct accounts “within days.” H&R Block said that it has processed millions of payments to customers’ bank accounts or to their prepaid cards with the company.

Updated at 1:14 p.m.