Individuals and families across the U.S. are eager to receive their CARES Act relief checks from the government, and while they wait, many are asking the same question— “how does the government know where to send my funds?”
The Treasury Department is using rules for disbursing the relief funds to Americans based on standards established in 2008 with the hope that this process will speed up the delivery of those much-needed monies. In doing so, the government is using information associated with 2019 and 2018 tax filings (i.e. addresses, bank account information, and filing status). Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has stated that direct deposits should start arriving in American‘s bank accounts by April 17th.
The IRS reports that they have direct deposit information on file for about 60% of all tax payers. If the IRS does not have direct deposit information on file for you, they will be mailing out printed checks that may arrive later than April 17th.
Also, the IRS will be modifying its wed-based portal so that people can update their direct deposit information online. We advise everyone to visit the IRS.gov website as updates and new information are being posted there on a regular basis.
