IRS, Treasury announce disbursement of '90 million Economic Impact Payments'

These EIPs are being rolled out "in tranches" and will be reaching "millions of Americans in the coming weeks," the statement added.

These payments represent the third round of payments the U.S. government is sending out to help the country to recover from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent financial downturn, which have been battering the country, and most of the rest of the world, since the beginning of 2020. 

This latest batch is the first to be distributed since Joe Biden was inaugurated in January, and is part of his US$1.9 trilllion economic stimulus package known as "the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021."  

The first batch of this latest round of payments have mostly been sent out by direct deposit, and some recipients have even already started to receive them, according to today's statement. 

The statement also said: 

• These payments began to be processed as early as last Friday (March 12). Some Americans saw the direct deposit payments as pending or as provisional payments in their accounts before today’s official payment date

• The first batch of payments primarily went to eligible taxpayers who provided direct deposit information on their 2019 or 2020 returns, including people who don’t typically file a return, but who successfully used the "Non-Filers tool" on the IRS.gov website last year, the government statement noted

• In total, this first batch included approximately 90 million payments, which are valued at more than US$242 billion

• The use of direct deposit to issue these payments means that they are being delivered faster than would otherwise be possible, the government says

• While the majority of payments were delivered by direct deposit, "roughly 150,000 checks, worth approximately US$442 million" have been mailed

• Since last weekend, "more than 35 million people have received their stimulus payment status through the 'Get My Payment' tool on IRS.gov, which is updated on a regular basis as updated information is available"

Additional batches and payments will be sent in the coming weeks by direct deposit and through the mail as a check or debit card, the government statement noted.

Individuals can check the “Get My Payment” tool on IRS.gov to see the payment status of these payments. Additional information on these Economic Impact Payments, along with a Fact Sheet of Frequently Asked Questions, is available on IRS.gov, the statement said.