“We expect over 80 million hard-working Americans will get the direct deposit by this Wednesday,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at a Monday press briefing. While the process of providing Americans with their money began on Saturday, many were still waiting on Wednesday.
“Thanks to hard work and long hours by dedicated #IRS employees, Economic Impact Payments are going out on schedule, as planned, without delay, to the nation,” the IRS tweeted Wednesday. “The IRS employees are delivering these payments in record time. #COVIDreliefIRS”
People attempting to find out when they were getting paid, however, ran into a roadblock when using a new service on the IRS website called Get My Payment.
“You can check your stimulus check payment status at irs.gov/eip. But when I checked mine and entered all my info all I got was ‘Payment Status Not Available,’” tweeted Jacksonville, Florida news anchor Phil Amato.
Brought online Wednesday, the Get My Payment tool was expected to allow consumers to verify their payment status, choose a method of payment and register for stimulus money if the IRS was not in possession of their financial information.
“‘Payment Status Not Available’ is just so wild,” tweeted website designer Claire J. Carroll. “The IRS will find you if you live in Mordor, but if you try to get your #Stimuluscheck they’ve suddenly never heard of you.”
Teacher Jared Bushee made a visual comparison between the IRS and a petulant Willy Wonka. “Payment status not available,” Bushee tweeted. “IRS mood today:”
“I’m going to tell my mortgage company ‘Payment Status Not Available,’” tweeted user @IrreverentGamer, “and see what they say. #Stimuluscheck”
Some Americans, unable to ascertain when they would be receiving their money, felt left in the lurch. Independent contractors and those who had been laid off by stay-at-home orders indicated they had been particularly affected.
“We have about 200 contractors who were expecting a deposit today,” tweeted Indy Models, a child modeling agency in Indiana. “We sent a broadcast email this morning to ask all for feedback. Of the 33 we’ve heard from so far, only 4 received their deposit. The rest receive Payment Status Not Available on the IRS website. Not working.”
“Every freelancer knows the pain of ‘Payment Status Not Available’ … Welcome to our lives, America,” tweeted music journalist Sowmya Krishnamurthi.
Newsweek reached out to the IRS for comment.
Under the guidelines of the stimulus package, qualifying individuals are eligible to receive up to $1,200 with an extra $500 paid out for each child under the age of 16 who qualifies for the program. Married couples without children may be eligible for a total payment of $2,400.
