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According to the general press and the relevant IRS pages, if you e-filed your taxes for 2018 (or even 2019), and you used direct deposit, the stimulus checks will be deposited automatically into the known account.

What could be the reason that to fail? I used the IRS website today to find out when to expect my stimulus check, and it claimed they 'are missing the information to deposit it' automatically.

Now it could be that the IRS is really missing my deposit data, but I have been using the same account for the last ten years, filed my taxes for 2019 on Mar/11, and the IRS deducted today (that is, Apr/15), my tax payment for 2019. They were perfectly able to deduct it, it's gone from my account, but they 'don't have my account information'?

I never had a high opinion on the quality of their processes, but that is incomprehensible even for me. How can they use the account information and at the same time not have it?

Nosjack
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Aganju
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3 Answers3

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[this is a self-answer, as more information became public]

If your previous year's filings didn't result in refunds, the IRS will not use the account information it has (from Foxbusiness):

[...] Even if you filed your 2018 or 2019 tax returns automatically, you must have also received a refund in those years via direct deposit to ensure your money arrives. If you owed money, the IRS will not use that bank account information. [...]

So it is correct that the IRS treats refund accounts and withdrawal accounts as two different thing, as proposed by @user4556274 in a comment, even though most people would use the same account for getting and paying money. They rather send you nothing than putting it in one of your accounts where you potentially wouldn't have wanted it.

Nosjack
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Aganju
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To potentially help others who are in the same position (did not receive a refund in 2018 or 2019):

You will still receive the stimulus - either via a paper check in the mail sometime in the future, or via providing direct deposit information on the IRS portal Get My Payment. I was able to enter my tax information and direct deposit account there to receive a deposit without waiting for the paper checks.

Chris H.
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There are reports that people that had their payment or refund go though a third party site didn't get direct deposit.

For example if you told TurboTax to take the fee from your refund, or to tack their fee onto your IRS payment, then the IRS didn't get the bank information. They saw it as transaction with TurboTax. The tax software company has your bank information. This is also a issue for people who get refund anticipation loans, or have the funds put directly onto a branded debit card. It also impacted those that didn't use the software but did use an actual tax preparer and made similar choices.

mhoran_psprep
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