More than 2 million stimulus payments have been sent so far to Washington taxpayers
You are not alone if you are tired of hitting the “Get My Payment” button on the IRS’ website to see the status of your economic impact payment.
On Friday, the IRS offered an update on how many payments have been sent out so far.
For Washington state, 2,058,899 payments have been distributed, totaling more than $3.6 billion.
Nationwide, the IRS said a total of 88.1 million payments had been sent to taxpayers as of April 17, worth nearly $158 billion.
The payments were authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and are meant to help households meet expenses during the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent waves of unemployment and furloughs amid business shutdowns.
The payments start at $1,200 for individuals and can vary depending on adjusted gross income on your taxes and number of dependents claimed.
“The IRS, Treasury and partner agencies are working nonstop to get these payments out in record time to Americans who need them,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in Friday’s release. “Tens of millions of people across the country are receiving these payments, and millions more are on the way. We encourage people to visit IRS.gov for the latest information, FAQs and updates on the payments.”
Frustration has mounted as many taxpayers have complained of being unable to track their status, receiving a “Payment Status Not Available” window. Others faced issues entering banking information.
The IRS has expanded its FAQ page and is blocking out time for system maintenance on the website for upgrades. The Detroit Free Press reported Friday that the IRS had initiated outages on Friday and Saturday, following a scheduled outage Thursday.
The IRS is expected to be making “critical system updates.” The stimulus payment website launched April 15.
More than 150 million payments eventually will be sent out, and millions of people who do not typically file a tax return are eligible to receive the payments.
According to the IRS, payments are automatic “for people who filed a tax return in 2018 or 2019, receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits (SSDI), Railroad Retirement benefits, as well as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Veterans Affairs beneficiaries who didn’t file a tax return in the last two years.”
This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 1:25 PM.
