# Check in here (if you like) if you have (or have pending) your stimulus check **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 13, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705 "2020-04-13T17:09:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/21 "2020-04-14T15:57:32Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Pending at my credit union. Same for us. Supposed to be deposited tomorrow (4/15). ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/22 "2020-04-14T17:48:35Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Hasn’t arrived yet. Doesn’t matter because it will go into savings and remain unspent. > > Not gloating. The stimulus money is an advance on one’s 2020 federal income tax return. Since I have to pay every year, I’m saving it because I will have to return the full stimulus amount plus what I normally owe. Not accurate. > **[Will Coronavirus Stimulus Checks Count Against 2020 Tax Refunds?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/covid-stimulus-check/)** > > While the stimulus payment is technically a tax credit, its categorization as such was made only so the government could disburse payments using the IRS’ existing infrastructure. The mention of a credit for 2020 was a mere workaround so that money could be distributed sooner. Pretend that the law says “free money.” This will not change what you owe or receive next year. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/23 "2020-04-14T17:53:42Z")
Here is an issue I have. A client is married filing jointly. For last year’s tax return they used a bank account solely in his wife’s name. His wife has also piled up massive credit card debts with that same bank that she defaulted on. If the stimulus check is sent to that bank, then the bank will take it to satisfy the unpaid debt. He wants to ensure that the IRS direct deposits the check in their new joint account so that doesn’t happen. However, there seems to be no way to do that because the tool to update the bank information does not go online until AFTER many of the direct deposits go out. This guy needs to just hope that the government holds off for him until the tool becomes available. It is pretty silly to send out direct deposits before there is a way to ensure that it is not going to a closed or indebted account. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/24 "2020-04-14T18:08:54Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Here is an issue I have. A client is married filing jointly. For last year’s tax return they used a bank account solely in his wife’s name. His wife has also piled up massive credit card debts with that same bank that she defaulted on. > > If the stimulus check is sent to that bank, then the bank will take it to satisfy the unpaid debt. He wants to ensure that the IRS direct deposits the check in their new joint account so that doesn’t happen. > > However, there seems to be no way to do that because the tool to update the bank information does not go online until AFTER many of the direct deposits go out. This guy needs to just hope that the government holds off for him until the tool becomes available. > > It is pretty silly to send out direct deposits before there is a way to ensure that it is not going to a closed or indebted account. My bank won’t accept a joint return unless both names are on the account, so possibly he could talk to the bank and let them know he doesn’t consent for his share of the stimulus going into her account. That’s a bank-by-bank decision. The reason that deposits show up as ‘pending’ before they actually hit the account is so that the bank can reject them and tell the IRS that it is a closed or other ineligible account (but an indebted account is another matter). ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/25 "2020-04-14T18:20:38Z")
Mine is pending in my bank account ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/26 "2020-04-14T20:44:06Z")
I received an e-mail from my bank this morning saying they expect to start receiving the payments tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/27 "2020-04-14T21:13:48Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Not accurate. > > This will not change what you owe or receive next year. It can increase what you receive next year. If the amount of stimulus you are entitled to based on your 2020 return is larger than the amount you received during 2020, you will get the difference. If it is less, you will not have to pay back the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/28 "2020-04-14T21:14:02Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > From [this list](https://www.reddit.com/r/stimuluscheck/comments/fypstg/confirmed_bank_megathread/), they may be going by small banks first, but it really seems to make no rhyme or sense. Interesting. My bank is a small credit union (not on that list). ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/29 "2020-04-14T21:22:18Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Here is an issue I have. A client is married filing jointly. For last year’s tax return they used a bank account solely in his wife’s name. His wife has also piled up massive credit card debts with that same bank that she defaulted on. > > If the stimulus check is sent to that bank, then the bank will take it to satisfy the unpaid debt. He wants to ensure that the IRS direct deposits the check in their new joint account so that doesn’t happen. It is illegal in the United States for banks to take money from deposit accounts to satisfy credit card debt without either the depositor’s consent or a levy order. [15 USC § 1666h](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1666h) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/30 "2020-04-14T21:38:24Z")
It appeared in the account I use for my federal tax payments/refunds today. And yeah, **Duckster** , the advance credit is structured so that your final net tax obligation in April of 2021 (for those eligible under the earning threshold) is to be unchanged unless you become eligible for more credit. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/31 "2020-04-14T22:13:38Z")
Ours is pending in our bank account to be deposited tomorrow. We were just barely under the AGI threshold to get the full amount in 2019 - go us, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/32 "2020-04-15T00:05:16Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Not accurate. > > [Will Your Coronavirus Stimulus Check Count Against Your 2020 Tax Refund? | Snopes.com](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/covid-stimulus-check/) > > The mention of a credit for 2020 was a mere workaround so that money could be distributed sooner. Pretend that the law says “free money.” This will not change what you owe or receive next year. The stimulus money is unfunded. There is nothing in the legislation stating where the money to pay for the checks is coming from. The government has to pay for this money by either (1) raising taxes, (2) selling debt, (3) selling assets, or any combination of the three. The legislation does not address any of this. And let’s not foreget the rest of the stimulus package going to the uber-wealthy. You can bet they will be getting it as free money, paid for by someone else. A fourth option is in the form of a “rebate.” And that is in the legislation. Unless Congress passes new legislation addressing how to pay for the stimulus using one or more of the methods above, those getting a stimulus check will be on the hook somewhere down the road and will have to pay it back. Of course, if that happens, it will be a different Congress and hopefully, a different president, who will endure the wrath of the taxpayers. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/33 "2020-04-15T02:04:24Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > The stimulus money is unfunded. There is nothing in the legislation stating where the money to pay for the checks is coming from. The government has to pay for this money by either (1) raising taxes, (2) selling debt, (3) selling assets, or any combination of the three. The legislation does not address any of this. And let’s not foreget the rest of the stimulus package going to the uber-wealthy. You can bet they will be getting it as free money, paid for by someone else. > > A fourth option is in the form of a “rebate.” And that is in the legislation. Unless Congress passes new legislation addressing how to pay for the stimulus using one or more of the methods above, those getting a stimulus check will be on the hook somewhere down the road and will have to pay it back. Of course, if that happens, it will be a different Congress and hopefully, a different president, who will endure the wrath of the taxpayers. Legislation authorizing funding doesn’t have to specify how it is funded, and that is true whether the legislation is for a stimulus or a new aircraft carrier; the Treasury is responsible for figuring where the money is coming from. The main tool the Treasury has is selling debt, which they are [already doing](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-forecast-to-sell-more-than-2-trillion-of-short-term-debt-in-2020-to-finance-stimulus-2020-04-01). ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/34 "2020-04-15T06:39:43Z")
AHA! I just checked my e-mail on Tuesday 4/14 at about 23:30 and found this there, apparently sent from my bank about a half hour ago! > [@An Alert From (Bank) about a Direct Deposit](#): > > This is an Alert to help manage your account ending in [xxxx]. > > A recent $1,200.00 Direct Deposit posted on Apr 15, 2020 at 1:56 AM ET to your account was more than $1.00 limit in your Alerts settings. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/35 "2020-04-15T06:56:45Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > From [this list](https://www.reddit.com/r/stimuluscheck/comments/fypstg/confirmed_bank_megathread/), they may be going by small banks first, but it really seems to make no rhyme or sense. Damn, my bank isn’t even on the list! Also, no “pending” on the account. Hm… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/36 "2020-04-15T06:58:29Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > AHA! I just checked my e-mail on Tuesday 4/14 at about 23:30 and found this there, apparently sent from my bank about a half hour ago! I checked my online banking information about half an hour ago, and found a deposit pending for April 15 for the full amount of our stimulus. Which was a _little_ odd, because my last tax return directed a little over a third of it into **kaylasmom** ’s checking account (I also checked that online, and made certain there was no stimulus money pending deposit into hers). So I found a branch of her bank that will be open tomorrow and made an appointment to close the account. And possibly a further data point that does NOT support the hypothesis that small banks are being handled first: My bank is Chase. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/37 "2020-04-15T06:59:08Z")
“Stimulus Checks May Be Delayed Because Trump Wants His Name Printed On Them” > **[Stimulus Checks May Be Delayed Because Trump Wants His Name Printed On Them,...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2020/04/14/stimulus-checks-may-be-delayed-because-trump-wants-his-name-printed-on-them-report-says/?fbclid=IwAR0YMJh8yKHDauMBtmzLrCiXdg6dZqPhh_3joac10eb9G7Q3Eh9kOQKUrGs#3e1b62ae0c15)** > > This will be the first time a president’s name will appear on a disbursement from the IRS. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/38 "2020-04-15T07:50:55Z")
Well my bank is on that list as 4/15 but I have no deposit and no pending. Am most definitely very much under the $75,000 threshold. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/39 "2020-04-15T07:55:00Z")
As I’ll be getting a paper check, I don’t expect it until mid-May. Oh, well. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705/40 "2020-04-15T08:06:31Z")
Showed up about an hour ago; already moved into savings. Was bad, and did go buy a book on Amazon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-here-if-you-like-if-you-have-or-have-pending-your-stimulus-check/851705.md?page=3)