March 18, 2021 By Ben Abrams
The Treasury Department says it has sent out 90 million economic impact payments totaling $242 billion since President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan last week.
The IRS made the bulk of those payments as direct deposits, which recipients starting seeing in their bank accounts last weekend, officials said Wednesday.
In addition, Treasury has mailed out roughly 150,000 checks worth about $442 million. Processing If the payments began last Friday, the day after Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, which allowed direct payments of up to $1,400 to qualifying individuals.
Treasury said the first batch of payments went to eligible taxpayers who provided direct-deposit information on their 2019 or 2020 tax returns. Included were people who rarely file a return but who used a non-filers tool at IRS.gov last year to be included in two earlier rounds of COVID-19 relief payments.
Officials said direct deposit will send additional batches of payments in coming weeks and through the mail as a check or debit card.
The latest payment follows the first coronavirus pandemic relief bill, which started with $1,200 payments in the first round last spring and $600 payments in a second round of payments approved by Congress in December.
Most taxpayers don't need to take any actions to receive the checks, Treasury and IRS officials said on Friday. People can also check the "Get My Payment" site at IRS.gov, which the tax agency reopened for the third round of stimulus checks.
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