Another round of stimulus payments -- the seventh batch since Congress passed the most recent COVID-19 relief bill -- started arriving Wednesday in bank accounts and through the mail, the IRS said. That includes hundreds of thousands more plus-up payments for people who may not have initially received the total for which they were eligible.
The 2 million payments, which were approved under the American Rescue Plan, began processing last Friday and total more than $4.3 billion. The IRS said the total of payments sent out since the bill was signed March 11 has reached 163 million, with a total value of about $384 billion.
Americans who made up to $75,000 in 2020 will get the maximum $1,400 check under the American Rescue Plan. Couples who file taxes jointly and made up to $150,000 will get $2,800. The amount received decreases to zero for individuals who made up to $80,000 and couples who earned $160,000. There's a $1,400 kicker for each dependent in the household.
More than 1.2 million of Wednesday's payments were sent out to eligible people for which the IRS said it did not previously have the information it needed. These individuals had recently filed a tax return, so now the IRS was able to send out payments to those individuals.
Another 730,000 plus-up payments worth more than $1.3 billion also went out Wednesday. These are people who the IRS only had 2019 tax information for, but may have earned less in 2020 and, therefore, were possibly due more money. The IRS was able to pay the updated amount now that they have their 2020 tax returns and personal details.
More than 1.1 million people who'll receive payments in this latest round will receive their payments by direct deposit, while around 850,000 paper checks were mailed out, the IRS said.
The Internal Revenue Service said it will continue dispersing stimulus payments weekly, to eligible individuals, including those eligible for "plus-up" payments. If individuals usually don't file a tax return, or are unsure if the IRS has their information, filing a tax return for 2020 will allow filers to get their information over to the IRS, so that stimulus payments can be sent to all who are eligible.
The IRS is urging people who don't normally file a tax return to do so for the 2020 tax year in order to receive a stimulus payment, if eligible.
Travis Pittman contributed to this report.