Stimulus Payments

[JimWells]

On my 2019 Federal 1040 I had a refund due & had it direct deposited to my checking account.  The banking info shows on page 2 of the 1040.  I received the first two rounds on Stimulus payments just fine.  They went into that checking account.  I filed my 2020 Form 1040 in late February 2021 & had a balance due.  I had the IRS take it out of my checking account with a direct debit on March 3rd.  It was the same checking account used on my 2020 1040.  However, because there was a balance due the bank account info does not show on the 2020 Form 1040.  It only appears on the TurboTax Summary Letter for this year's return Can I assume that the IRS knows my banking info (use that same account) for the Stimulus Payments they are sending out now?

[MichelleLO]

The IRS will determine eligibility and where to send stimulus payments based on your last tax return. Stimulus payments will likely go to the bank account where their last tax refund was deposited. 

For more information, please see How will the third stimulus impact me?

[JimWells · Accepted solution]

Yes, you are correct that they use the banking info you supply on your tax return when you are getting a refund as I did on my 2019 Federal return.  That banking info actually appears on page 2 of Form 1040.  However, on my 2020 return (filed & accepted by the IRS on Feb. 27th of this year) I had a balance due & opted for Electronic Payment of the amount to be taken out of my bank account (same bank account used on the 2019 tax return) on March 3rd.  The IRS pulled the money out of my bank account on March 3rd.  Nowhere on my 2020 Federal Form 1040 does the banking info appear.  It only appears on the TurboTax Letter of Instructions.  The IRS has said that it will use the banking info from your 2020 return if it has been filed and processed (mine has), otherwise it will use the 2019 return.  Since the banking info does not appear on my 2020 Federal Form 1040, I was trying to find out if TurboTax actually transmits it to the IRS.  The IRS says that it uses a 3rd party to generate the ACH Debits to withdraw tax payments from my bank account.  I thought that perhaps TurboTax sends the banking info directly to the 3rd party designated by the IRS and not directly to the IRS with my electronic filing.  If so, then the IRS would have no banking info based on my filed & processed 2020 return.  I finally found a phone number [phone number removed] for TurboTax Support & after a 10 minute hold a very nice lady came on the line.  After explaining my question, she said she didn't know the answer but would try to find out if I would stay on the line with her.  It took her almost 30 minutes of trying, but she finally was able to assure me that the banking information for my 2020 return's balance due payment is transmitted by TurboTax directly to the IRS.  It is in the same electronic transmission as my tax return data is.  She says the IRS must be the one that sends it on to a 3rd party to generate the ACH banking transaction.  Bottom line, the IRS should therefore know my banking info based on my 2020 return.