Banks start processing $1,400 federal stimulus checks
March 17 is the official payment date
Karl Rove, former deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, argues direct checks and the coronavirus stimulus package may backfire.
Banks have begun processing $1,400 federal stimulus checks for many Americans as part of President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.
The Internal Revenue Service announced Friday that the third round of federal stimulus checks would go out "over the next week."
The IRS confirmed to Fox Business on Saturday that March 17 is the official payment date, though some banks have started processing the checks, so payments may show up earlier in some accounts and later in others.
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More payments will be sent "in the coming weeks by direct deposit" or in the mail as checks or debit cards, though the "vast majority" will be direct deposits, the IRS said in a Friday press release.
Wells Fargo, Chase and Navy Federal Credit Union have said that customers eligible for stimulus payments may receive them as early as March 17. J.P. Morgan and Citigroup did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox Business.
The one-time checks will be distributed to individuals with adjusted gross incomes of $75,000 or less and couples with an adjusted gross income of $150,000 or less.
Americans with adjusted gross incomes of $80,000 or less and couples who earn $160,000 a year or less are eligible for partial stimulus payments.
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For those filing as head of household, the cutoff for stimulus eligibility begins at $112,500 and tapers off at $120,000.
The payments will likely be based on the income you reported in your 2020 tax return, but if you haven't filed it yet, the government will use your 2019 return to calculate how much you're owed.
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In most cases, taxpayers will not have to do anything to receive the direct deposits, though people can check the "Get My Payment" tool on the IRS website to check the status of their checks.
"Even though the tax season is in full swing, IRS employees again worked around the clock to quickly deliver help to millions of Americans struggling to cope with this historic pandemic," IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a Friday statement.
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He continued: "The payments will be delivered automatically to taxpayers even as the IRS continues delivering regular tax refunds. We urge people to visit IRS.gov for the latest details on the stimulus payments, other new tax law provisions and tax season updates.”
The federal government ran an annual deficit of $3.1 trillion in the 2020 fiscal year, more than triple the deficit of the previous year, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. The cumulative national debt now sits at $28 trillion.
Fox Business' Megan Henney contributed to this report.