Get My Payment Frequently Asked Questions

The following questions are regarding the Get My Payment application. 

On this page...

Using Get My Payment

To use Get My Payment, you must first verify your identity by answering security questions. (See Error Messages/Lockouts for more information if you can't access Get My Payment.)

If your answers don’t match our records multiple times, you’ll be locked out of Get My Payment for 24 hours for security reasons. If you can’t verify your identity, you won’t be able to use Get My Payment. Don’t contact the IRS for assistance with a lockout; IRS assistors can’t unlock your account. For more information, see Error Messages/Lockouts.

If you can’t get your payment status because you’ve been locked out, you must wait 24 hours and try again.

If you verified your identity and received “Payment Status Not Available,” this means either we have not processed your payment yet, we do not have enough information to issue you a payment or you are not eligible for a payment.

Either spouse can use Get My Payment by providing their own information for the security questions used to verify their identity. Once verified, the same payment status will be shown for both spouses.

Eligible federal benefit recipients who do not usually file a tax return will be able to use Get My Payment to check their payment status for their own payment when it’s been issued.

The IRS is working with Federal agencies to get updated information for recipients to ensure we are sending automatic payments to as many people as possible. More information about when these payments will be made is provided in the news release issued on March 30, 2021 and the news release dated April 14, 2021.

If you are eligible for the Third Economic Impact Payment and have not filed a 2020 return, you still have time to file so you can provide us with the information needed to issue a payment to you, or a qualifying spouse and any qualifying dependents you may have. See how to File Your Federal Taxes Online for Free.

Yes, you can use Get My Payment.

Enter your ITIN in Get My Payment to check the status of your third Economic Impact Payment. 

Payment Status

Get My Payment shows when and how your third Economic Impact Payment was sent. To find your payment amount, create or view an online account or refer to IRS Notice 1444-C. 

If you’re eligible for a plus-up payment, Get My Payment will show the status of this additional payment, and will no longer show the status of your initial third payment. 

Get My Payment displays these messages:

Payment Status:

If you get this message, either:

  • A payment is processed, with the date and method (direct deposit or check by mail or debit card) listed.

or

  • You are eligible, but a payment has not been processed and a payment date is not available.

Payment Status Not Available:

If you get this message, either we have not yet processed your payment, or you are not eligible for a payment. We will continue to send the Third Economic Impact Payment to eligible individuals throughout 2021.

Need More Information:

If you get this message, your payment was returned to the IRS because the post office was unable to deliver it.

To have your payment reissued as a direct deposit, you can provide a routing and account number for a:

  • Bank account
  • Prepaid debit card (must be reloadable; contact the card issuer for information)
  • Alternative financial products that have a routing and account number associated with them

If you don’t provide account information, we can’t reissue your payment until your address if updated. See My address has changed or is incorrect. What can I do to change or correct it to receive my payment?

Your payment may have been sent by mail because the bank rejected the deposit. This could happen because the bank information was invalid or the bank account has been closed.

Note: You can’t change your bank information already on file with the IRS for your Economic Impact Payment. Don’t call the IRS, our phone assistors won’t be able to change your bank information, either.

If you see Need More Information in Get My Payment, it is because:

  • your 2020 return was processed and we don’t have bank account information for you and your payment has not been issued yet

or

  • the Post Office was unable to deliver your third Economic Impact Payment and returned it to the IRS.

To have your payment issued as a direct deposit, you can provide a routing and account number for a:

  • Bank account
  • Prepaid debit card (must be reloadable; contact the card issuer for information)
  • Alternative financial product that has a routing and account number

Click on the button that says “Direct Deposit,” answer some additional security questions and then enter the routing and account number. Please note that this option is not available if we already have account information for you. The IRS cannot update existing account information.

If you don’t provide account information but your check was returned to the IRS and your address has changed, we can’t reissue your payment until your address is updated. See My address has changed or is incorrect. What can I do to change or correct it to receive my payment? 

Don’t have a bank account? To find a bank that’s right for you, check the FDIC website. If you’re a veteran, find options with the Veterans Benefits Banking Program (VBBP). You can also ask your tax preparer about electronic payment options.

The Get My Payment application will return "Payment Status Not Available" if:

  • We haven’t yet processed your Economic Impact Payment;
  • We don’t have enough information to issue you a payment; or
  • You aren’t eligible for a payment.

The IRS will continue to issue the Third Economic Impact Payments throughout 2021. Please check the Get My Payment tool for updates on your payment status.

Get My Payment will not show the amounts of your Economic Impact Payments.
To find the amounts of these payments:

  • Create or view your online account;
  • Refer to IRS Notices 1444 (first payment), 1444-B (second payment) or 1444-C (third payment), which the IRS mailed after the payments were issued; or 
  • Request an account transcript online or by mail using Get Transcript.

If you received joint payments with your spouse, the letters and account transcript show the total amount of each payment. If you file separate 2020 tax returns, each of you must enter half of amount of the payment.

Didn’t receive a full first or second payment? File a 2020 tax return — even if you aren’t required to file — and claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit if you’re eligible.

For the third round, if you are sent a plus-up Economic Impact Payment after your 2020 tax return is processed:

  • The amount of your initial third payment will no longer show in your online account. You will only see the amount of your plus-up payment.
  • The status of your initial third payment will no longer show in Get My Payment. You will only see the status of your plus-up payment.

Payment status: Where’s My Refund and Online Account will not provide the status of your Economic Impact Payments. Get My Payment is the only option available to get your payment status.

Payment amounts for filing: You can check the amounts of your Economic Impact Payments through your online account.The first and second payment amounts can help you accurately calculate any 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit you may eligible for on your 2020 tax return. These EIP amounts can be found on the Tax Records tab under the section “2020 Economic Impact Payment Information.” For additional information regarding the credit, see Recovery Rebate Credit.

 Address Information

The easiest way to update your address with the IRS is to file your 2020 tax return with your current address, if you haven’t already done so. The fastest way to file the return and have your address updated, is to file it electronically.

If your payment can’t be delivered to you for any reason, it will be returned to the IRS. To get your payment reissued:

  • Set up direct deposit with Get My Payment. After your payment is returned to the IRS, your payment status will update to “Need More Information.” You can then choose direct deposit to a:
     
    • Bank account
    • Prepaid debit card (must be reloadable; contact the card issuer for information)
    • Alternative financial products that have a routing and account number associated with them
       
  • Update your address with the IRS. The easiest way is to file your 2020 tax return with your current address, if you haven’t already done so. Once we receive your current address, we will reissue your payment.

For other ways to update your address with the IRS, see How do I notify the IRS my address has changed?

Missing Payments

Once we receive your payment back, you may be able to provide your bank account information in Get My Payment to have your payment reissued as a direct deposit.

If this is the case, then Get My Payment will show “Need More Information,” usually two to three weeks after the payment is issued. At this point, you can enter a routing and account number for your bank account, prepaid debit card or alternative financial product that has a routing and account number associated with it.

If you do not provide account information, your payment will be reissued when we receive an updated address.

If you need to update your address, the easiest way to do it is by filing your 2020 tax return with your current address, if you haven’t already done so. The fastest way to file the return and update your address is to file the return electronically. For other ways to update your address with the IRS, see How do I notify the IRS my address has changed? 

In some cases, married taxpayers who file a joint tax return may get their third payment as two separate payments; half may come as a direct deposit and the other half will be mailed to the address we have on file. This is generally the address on the most recent tax return or as updated through the United States Postal Service (USPS).

The second half may come the same week or within weeks of the first half. Each taxpayer on the tax return should check Get My Payment separately using their own Social Security number to see the status of their payments. Please continue to monitor IRS.gov for additional information and updates.

Error Messages/Lockouts

Your account has been locked for 24 hours. This occurred because:

  • Information you entered doesn’t match our records – for security reasons we limit each user to 3 failed attempts per 24-hour period; or
  • You have already accessed the system the maximum number of times within 24 hours – we limit each user to 5 logins per day to manage system capacity.

The lockout will only release when the 24 hours have passed. Don’t contact the IRS for assistance with a lockout: IRS assistors can’t unlock your account.

If the information you enter to verify your identity in Get My Payment doesn’t match our records, you’ll receive an error message. To avoid this:

  • Double-check what the application is requesting.
  • Make sure what you enter is accurate.
  • Try entering your street address in a different way (for example: 123 N Main St instead of 123 North Main St.). 
  • Use the U.S. Postal Service’s ZIP Lookup tool to look up the standard version of your address and enter it into Get My Payment exactly as it appears on file with the Postal Service.

Note: If you enter information that doesn’t match our records three times within 24 hours, you’ll be locked out of Get My Payment for security reasons. You’ll be able to access the application again after 24 hours. Don’t contact the IRS for assistance with a lockout: IRS assistors can’t unlock your account.

Bank Account Information

Your bank account information cannot be changed.

The bank account information in Get My Payment came from one of the following sources:

  • Your 2020 tax return.
  • Your 2019 tax return if your 2020 return was not processed when the IRS started issuing payments.
  • Information you entered on your Non-Filer registration in 2020.
  • Information you entered on Get My Payment in 2020.
  • A federal agency that provides you benefits, such as: the Social Security Administration, Veteran Affairs or the Railroad Retirement Board.
  • Federal records of recent payments to or from the government, where available, for those without direct deposit information on file with the IRS.

If you don’t recognize the bank account number displayed in the Get My Payment tool it does not mean your deposits were made to the wrong account or that there is a fraud. If you do not recognize the account number, it may be an issue related to how information is displayed in the tool tied to temporary accounts used for refund loans/banking products. You do not need to complete Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit. 

If your bank information is invalid or the account has been closed, the bank will return your payment to the IRS and we will mail it to you by check at the address we have on file.

If you did not file a tax return and you receive SSA, RRB, SSI or VA benefits and your benefits are currently deposited to a Direct Express card, then your third Economic Impact Payment will be deposited to that card. The bank information shown in Get My Payment will be a number associated with your Direct Express card and may be a number you don’t recognize.

For those without direct deposit information on file with the IRS, the IRS will use federal records of recent payments to or from the government, where available, to make the payment as a direct deposit. This helps to expedite payment delivery.

If you don’t recognize the bank account number displayed in the Get My Payment tool it does not mean your deposits were made to the wrong account or that there is a fraud. If you do not recognize the account number, it may be an issue related to how information is displayed in the tool tied to temporary accounts used for refund loans/banking products. You do not need to complete Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit. 

EIP Card (Debit Card)

The EIP Card is a debit card sent by U.S. Mail in a white envelope with the U.S. Department of the Treasury seal and a return address from "Economic Impact Payment Card.” 

The card has the Visa name on the front and the issuing bank, MetaBank®, N.A., on the back. Information included with the EIP Card explains that this is your Economic Impact Payment. If you receive an EIP Card, visit EIPcard.com for more information.

No, we will not add funds to an EIP Card that we already issued for a previous payment. When 2021 payments are issued and the IRS does not have account information available to issue you a direct deposit, you may be mailed a check or an EIP Card.

The EIP card was mailed in a white envelope with a return address from "Economic Impact Payment Card” with the U.S. Department of the Treasury Seal. The card has the Visa name on the front and the issuing bank, MetaBank®, N.A., on the back. Information included with the EIP card explains that this is your Economic Impact Payment. If you received an EIP Card, visit EIPcard.com for more information.

EIP cards are sponsored by the Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, managed by Money Network Financial, LLC, and issued by Treasury’s financial agent, MetaBank®, N.A.