About 20 million eligible Americans are still waiting for their stimulus payments and it may take weeks longer for them to arrive, The Washington Post reports.
The IRS said that about 130 million stimulus payments totaling more than $200 billion have already been sent out but about 20 million others are still pending.
The IRS said that taxpayers still waiting for the payments should use the “Get My Payment” tool on their website to submit their direct deposit information so they don’t have to wait for a check in the mail. The agency set a deadline for 12 pm on Wednesday to submit the information.
IRS checks may stretch into June:
“After noon Wednesday, the IRS will begin preparing millions of files to send to BFS [Bureau of Fiscal Services] for paper checks that will begin arriving through late May and into June,” the IRS said last week.
That means that if people miss the deadline, they may have to wait until June to receive the payment.
IRS said on Monday that it has added “significant enhancements” to the online portal to “deliver an improved and smoother experience,” though it’s unclear what those enhancements are.
Some states got more than others:
The IRS has sent more checks to lower- and middle-class households, which has delayed payments in states where the median income is higher.
West Virginia has the highest share of taxpayers who have received their payment, CBS News reports. The state has a median income of $44,000.
New Jersey has the lowest share, with just about 70% of taxpayers have received their payments. The state has a median income of $82,000.
