Because of an antiquated IRS stimulus check mailing system, many Americans who do not have direct deposit set up through previous tax returns might face a wait of months for the eagerly awaited payouts, NBC News reported.
The U.S. government is expected to distribute 60 million payments of up to $1,200 per individual using bank deposit information gleaned from 2018 and 2019 income tax filings during the week of April 13, according to a memo from Democrats on the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee.
But those without direct deposit information on file will not start receiving paper checks until May 4, according to the memo.
The paper check process is planned to start for the lowest-income Americans first, according to NBC News.
Americans should start receiving direct deposit payments from the U.S. government around April 13 to help them cope with the coronavirus pandemic, but others mght have to wait until mid-September to receive paper checks, according to a key congressional committee. About 60 million Americans will received their payment then.
Indeed, once paper checks begin to be mailed, about 5 million checks can be processed per week, and it could take as much as 20 weeks (mid-September) for the higher income checks to go out, per NBC News.
President Donald Trump, at the signing of the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill a week ago, said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is working with a system that has not be used in over 10 years and has been used just twice in 20 years. He told Mnuchin and company to work on expediting payments to Americans are soon as possible amid the government red tape and bureaucracy in place.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.