Danielle McDonald-Vanty found a community of people on Facebook to try to get answers about what happened to their stimulus payments. “I’m in these groups to communicate with others in the same boat,” she told me in a message. It’s a good outlet, but ultimately no substitute for the money they haven’t gotten yet, money they need to keep their families afloat.

It may be awhile before Danielle’s family and millions of others get the stimulus money. The IRS can only make a direct deposit into your bank account if you gave them direct deposit information for refunds when you filed tax returns in 2018 or 2019. The IRS made direct deposits beginning the week of April 13. It will continue for the next several weeks as it steers money to 80 million Americans, says the House Ways and Means Committee.

But if you used a tax preparer, the IRS is not likely to have your direct deposit information. Danielle used a preparer. They received the direct deposit, she explained, “. . . so they could deduct their fees and advance loan before putting the remainder of the refund on my bank card.”

Coronavirus and the stay-at-home orders threw their family into financial limbo. Before the virus struck, they had decided to move from Springfield, Massachusetts to the Fayetteville, North Carolina area. Her husband Clarence was recovering from an accident at the wholesale grocery warehouse where he  worked.  She planned to transfer her IHop job as a waitress/shift supervisor to North Carolina. “My new location was closed when we got here,” she said. Since March they have been living with her in-laws because they haven’t been able to move into an apartment of their own. “It’s a big mess. My three children can’t even go to school,” Danielle said.

So the $3900 from the stimulus CARES Act would really help. But the IRS and Treasury officials acknowledge the money will be slow reaching families like Danielle’s. In 2019, 64 million taxpayers, or 41 percent, did not provide bank or financial account information to the IRS, according to the IRS taxpayer advocate.

The House Ways and Means Committee estimates that 101 million Americans will receive paper checks, including Social Security recipients, veterans and others. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told Jake Tapper on CNN on April 19 that the checks will have President Trump’s signature on them. It’s estimated 5 million checks will go out a week and it will take approximately 20 weeks to get them all out. The people with the lowest incomes will get the checks first.

How Can You Speed Things Up?

The IRS is encouraging people to log on to Get My Payment to update their information. 

You can update your address if you have moved or provide direct deposit information. 

You should also use this app if you have not filed taxes and the IRS has no record of you.

Danielle just signed on to the app and the message said that the IRS will give her a deposit date when they have one.  “I’m keeping my fingers crossed along with the thousands of people I have met on Facebook,” she said.