First coronavirus relief checks hit Americans’ bank accounts

Americans who qualified for the $1200 cash payment, a cornerstone of Congress’s $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package, are starting to receive their money through direct deposit.

Late last month, President Trump signed the CARES Act into law, a coronavirus relief package that promises to provide one-time checks to some, set aside money for small business loans and provides funding for corporations hit hard by the virus, among other provisions. 

“#IRS deposited the first Economic Impact Payments into taxpayers’ bank accounts today,” The Internal Revenue Service tweeted Saturday evening.

“We know many people are anxious to get their payments; we’ll continue issuing them as fast as we can.”

#IRS deposited the first Economic Impact Payments into taxpayers’ bank accounts today. We know many people are anxious to get their payments; we’ll continue issuing them as fast as we can. For #COVIDreliefIRS updates see: https://t.co/hEEWmgHA9V pic.twitter.com/2bSHOTjMAS

— IRS (@IRSnews) April 11, 2020

Not all Americans will receive the money, however. The payments are based off of tax returns from either 2018 or 2019, or Social Security or railroad retirement benefit statements. Americans who made under $75,000 in 2019 are eligible for the full payment. Couples who filed jointly and made less than $150,000 will receive $2,400.

Any “head of household” who made $112,500 or less also gets the full payment. For every child in that home that is under 17, a household receives an additional $500, with the max payment for a family of four totaling $3,400.

The payment then scales based on how much money a person made over $75,000. An individual making over $99,000 or couples making over $198,000 with no children do not qualify to receive checks.

The Trump administration has been adamant that the IRS is trying to distribute the payments as quickly as possible during the pandemic, as American businesses, schools and services remain shut down. 

If direct deposit isn’t set up when taxes are filed, it could take additional months for the IRS to send the payment by mail. The IRS launched a web tool on Friday to help people who don’t typically file tax returns receive their payments, and it’s expected to launch another tool this week to allow people who haven’t provided their direct-deposit information to the IRS in the past to do so.