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Dec. 29, 2020, 6:45 p.m. ET
Dec. 29, 2020, 6:45 p.m. ET
By Deborah B. Solomon
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in a tweet, said that the government had begun the process of getting money to individuals through direct deposit payments.Credit…Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times
While Congress continues to spar over whether to increase the size of stimulus payments to $2,000, the Treasury Department on Tuesday said it would begin depositing $600 checks into Americans’ bank accounts as early as Tuesday evening.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in a tweet, said that the government had begun the process of getting money to individuals through direct deposit payments, while paper checks would start to be mailed on Wednesday.
The $600 checks are part of the $900 billion stimulus bill that President Trump signed into law on Sunday.
The money is expected to flow faster than the initial round of $1,200 checks that lawmakers approved in March because the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury already have the necessary information — including who qualifies for a payment and how they want their money delivered.
Individual adults with an adjusted gross income of up to $75,000 a year on their 2019 tax returns will receive a $600 payment. A couple (or someone whose spouse died in 2020) earning up to $150,000 a year will get twice that amount. There is also a $600 payment for each child for families who meet those income requirements.
[Read more about the stimulus checks and how to receive them.]
The Treasury Department said the payments would be distributed automatically “with no action required for eligible individuals.” If lawmakers do agree to increase the size of the checks, the Treasury said the money issued “will be topped up as quickly as possible.”
Individuals can check the status of their payments “later this week” at the website IRS.gov/GetMyPayment.
