Mnuchin: Stimulus payments to begin arriving Tuesday night

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that stimulus payments from the most recent coronavirus relief package could begin landing in Americans’ bank accounts as early as Tuesday night.

Mnuchin said in a tweet that the Treasury Department had delivered a payment file to the Federal Reserve in association with the package and that “payments may begin to arrive in some accounts by direct deposit as early as tonight and will continue into next week.” 

.@USTreasury has delivered a payment file to the @FederalReserve for Americans’ Economic Impact Payments. These payments may begin to arrive in some accounts by direct deposit as early as tonight and will continue into next week (1/2)

— Steven Mnuchin (@stevenmnuchin1) December 29, 2020

He added that paper checks will begin to be mailed Wednesday.

The coronavirus relief package, which President Trump signed on Sunday, provided for direct payments of up to $600 per adult and per child under 17. Individuals with income of up to $75,000 and married couples with income of up to $150,000 are eligible for the full amount, and the amounts are reduced for people with incomes above those thresholds.

Treasury and the IRS are issuing payments automatically to people who filed a 2019 tax return, non-filers who receive certain federal benefits and people who provided their information to the IRS earlier this year through the agency’s web tool for non-filers. Most people will receive their payments by direct deposit, while others will get their payments in the mail in the form of either a paper check or a debit card. Debit cards will be delivered in white envelope with the Treasury seal, the IRS said.

Under the relief package, the IRS has until Jan. 15 to issue the automatic payments. Eligible people who do not receive their payment or who did not receive some or all of the payment to which they were entitled under March’s CARES Act can claim a tax credit when they file their 2020 tax returns next year. The CARES Act authorized payments of up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child.

The announcement that $600 payments are starting to be sent out comes amid a push by Trump and some lawmakers to increase those payments to $2,000. Treasury said Tuesday that if further legislation is enacted to increase the payment amount, payments that have already been issued will be “topped up” as promptly as they can be.

Updated at 7:28 p.m.