The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) distributes the second round of stimulus check quicker than the first. However, the January 15 cutoff adds to the pressure, making other people wait weeks or months to receive their money.

The IRS is ready to send your stimulus check

Will You Receive Your Stimulus Check Before or After the Deadline? Here's What You Should Know
(Photo : Colin Watts/ Unsplash)
Will You Receive Your Stimulus Check Before or After the Deadline? Here's What You Should Know

For those who have met the requirements in this week's deadline, the IRS is ready to send the second stimulus checks. Those who will not automatically get their stimulus check after Friday, January 15, need to claim their money later this year through their taxes. Last week, the federal agency sent nearly 80 percent of all the COVID-19 relief money that Congress allocated for the second round of payments through the two primary ways for sorting payments: an EIP debit card and bank accounts through direct deposit as a paper check in the mail.

Still, the IRS has 20 percent of the stimulus payments making and working through a major electronic-transfer issue. Therefore, there is a chance the delivery of your second stimulus check could not come in days past the cutoff. You may also need to claim a make-up payment, called Recovery Rebate Credit if it does not show up to claim all or part of the second stimulus check.

If you have confirmed that you are qualified for a $600 stimulus check, you will then work out which payment group the IRS has put you into. Here are some of the ideas to look for your stimulus check and what you will do if you have not received it before the tax season start, according to CNET:

Two things to know with paper checks

Much faster than the first payment, paper checks are on their way. However, there are still two limitations you must know. First, the U.S. Treasury process between five million and seven million paper stimulus checks per week in addition to checks for other federal programs, Government Accountability Office report June. Meaning, some people will have to wait to receive their stimulus payment.

Next, on January 15, there is the same that affects all the payments. Anyone who does not receive their stimulus check within the middle of the month will need to claim it during the tax season this year. 

Make sure to inform the IRS and USPS if you recently moved to still receive your check and the IRS confirmation letter, which you will need if you have to file a claim.

The timing of your stimulus check delivery after the cutoff becomes a matter of how soon you will submit your taxes for 2020 and how the IRS could process your return. Those who file their tax returns in February could receive their stimulus check months before people who wait until they file an extension or until April 15, in the form of a Recovery Rebate Credit. 

According to WGNTV, as millions of Americans will receive their $600 stimulus check in the mail, the IRS urged people to keep an eye on their mailboxes for the plain, white envelope containing their relief payment. The federal agency says that those who did not receive direct deposit should watch their mail for either a prepaid debit card or paper check.

Also read: Second Stimulus Checks: IRS Starts Sending Payment, Here's When You will Receive Yours

What to do if you missed money from either stimulus check?

Due to an error, it would not be clear how much money the IRS owes you. You might need to read up on the rules if you did not receive a check as expected. 

Besides, a court ruling made it possible for millions of incarcerated people to get a check, even if the I.R.s changed its interpretation of excluding this group.

Some Jackson Hewitt customers who have not yet received their second stimulus payments could receive the money by February 1, as per Detroit Free Press

On Monday, the tax preparation firm confirmed that the IRS would start processing payments once their systems come back online.

If you don't receive your stimulus payment in your bank account or mail, you can still claim it when you file your tax return in spring. In the first round of stimulus check in March, many people got their money months after the deadline. However, this time, the cutoff window is shorter. The IRS needs to issue the stimulus payments by January 15. 

On Friday, the federal agency is optimistic, stating that those who have not received direct deposits must continue watching their bank accounts for a deposit in the coming days, USA Today reported. 

Also read: Second Stimulus Check: Here's What to Use to Track Yours