I’ve seen this asked numerous times with no straight answers... how will “Pay With My Refund” affect my stimulus payment via direct deposit? The return on TurboTax shows my bank account, but my refund came via deposit from Santa Barbara TPG. So what account number was ACTUALLY filed with the IRS? The Santa Barbara TPG site doesn’t address this scenario directly. Can TurboTax employees please answer this question?
Santa Barbara Bank will not be playing a role depositing stimulus money. Wen the tool comes up on the irs website u have to put in new direct deposit info or u will get a paper check
If you received your refund via direct deposit after the fees were withheld then the IRS should have your direct deposit information. However, the IRS has not provided guidance on what types of financial accounts stimulus payments will be directly deposited into. Please view this IRS link for more information about the IRS Get My Payment application that will be available in mid-April. You can use this tool to check the status of your stimulus payment and enter your direct deposit information if necessary.
Thanks for your answer. But in this scenario I wonder how the IRS can have the correct account info, since it is first deposited with the intermediary (Santa Barbara TPG) to deduct fees. Maybe there is a mechanism established for this with the IRS?
By the way, this is not a question that requires awaiting IRS clarification. It is about the process established by Intuit’s partner, Santa Barbara TPG.
It still depends on the IRS because of exactly what you said: "Maybe there is a mechanism established for this with the IRS?" This is what we are still waiting for IRS guidance about. We will have more information once the government finalizes the details.
In the meantime, you can visit the following links for the most recent updates:
Thank you very much for your answer @KathrynG3. So is that another way of saying, “Nope, the IRS definitely doesn’t have your bank account info, so we’re trying to figure out what to do about it.”? If so, is Intuit working with the IRS directly to update these filings without the customer needing to take any further action?
I should add, many thanks to Intuit’s support staff during these chaotic times. I’m sure they are also “drinking from the fire hose” of rapidly changing information and doing their best to provide answers.
You're welcome! Well, it still depends on guidance not yet given, but definitely forthcoming by the IRS. As of now, the best thing is to watch for updates from both the IRS and from TurboTax. Thank you for trusting TurboTax for guidance. It is well placed!
Did you get a state DD? If you did, it didn’t touch SBTG. Same will be done with Stimulus Check. The only way you will receive a paper check is if SBTG deposit was bounced back to them and they had to issue you a paper check or their own debit card ( Wal-Mart card) to you with your funds.
@Tanta , the "Pay With My Refund" direct deposit option only involves your Federal refund. As such, this has nothing to do with state refunds which are paid directly by state treasuries.
If you paid TT with your refund, you allowed TT to collect payment by SBTG. They did this and then sent your refund to the TT card. Your state refund was also deposited however it did not go to SBTG, similarly, even if you used TT and SBTG, your stimulus check will be deposited to your TT card and has nothing to do with SBTG bank.
@Tanta To be clear, I do NOT have a TurboTax card (aka Green Dot, which is the parent company of SBTPG).
I am only talking about bank account direct deposits, like Chase, B of A, Wells Fargo, etc. Please read the prior posts in this thread to get a better understanding of the concern.
On a side note, "Pay With My Refund" is a complete ripoff. I didn't notice the fine print... but they charge you a whopping $40 above and beyond the TT fee just to use this option! You're better off putting it on a CC. Never again. Ever.
True. I don’t know how I didn’t use the free tool on the website.
Other way around! Green Dot is indeed the parent company of SBTPG.
In fact, if you go to the SBTPG website (https://www.sbtpg.com/) , you'll see "A Green Dot Company" at the bottom of the page, on the right-hand side of the footer.
[ NOTE - I'm not sure why this commentary keeps getting deleted. Am I saying something controversial or objectionable? I've made it clear it's my interpretation and I welcome corrections. ]
Unfortunately, there are still no clear answers for those of us who chose "Pay With My Refund"
with Santa Barbara TPG (SBTPG) acting as the intermediary using direct deposit into a bank
account (not a card). This is how I interpret multiple answers I’ve read from TurboTax support
staff so far:
* Even though YOUR bank account number appears in the direct deposit section, boxes 21(b) and
21(d) of the 1040 form you access via your TurboTax login, it does not necessarily mean it is
the account info that was filed with the IRS.
* More likely, your actual filing with the IRS had a routing/account number for SBTPG so they
could receive your refund, deduct the TurboTax fees, and then transfer the adjusted amount to
your account.
* If this is the case, it is possible that the IRS does NOT have your correct direct deposit
information.
* The TurboTax online support staff appear to have not yet been given guidance on this and are
awaiting answers as well.
* SBTPG’s site has a stimulus page that’s been cited on this forum, but as of now it does not
directly address TurboTax customers: https://www.sbtpg.com/coronavirus-stimulus-payment-info/
* There is no information the IRS can provide that speaks to this scenario, it is really a
question for Intuit and SBTPG to answer.
Looking forward, hopefully, either:
1) There is already an established mechanism in place between intermediaries like SBTPG and the
IRS in which they provide the customer’s ACTUAL account number secondarily with the original
filing in case it is needed for an occasion like this. If so, the IRS will already have our
account numbers and use them, or...
2) SBTPG will receive our stimulus payments and route them right into our bank accounts, just as
they did with our refunds, or...
3) SBTPG and/or Intuit are now actively working with the IRS to amend deposit account numbers
ASAP for "Pay With My Refund" customers so they can receive their stimulus deposits without
taking further action or incurring any delays.
I welcome any corrections if I’m wrong. 🙂
Your stimulus check will go to the bank listed on your tax return.
If you have your tax return it is listed on page 2 of your 1040 on lines 21 b & c
It is also noted at the top of the filing Instructions.
Hi @JohnB5677 , thanks for your reply. Not to doubt what you say, but do you have definitive word on this?
As I've noted, the correct account numbers do indeed show on the return copy you can access in TurboTax.
But due to the "refund by proxy" switcharoo that happens when you go through SBTPG I am wondering how this actually works. Our refunds first went to SBTPG who then deducted the TurboTax fee and then deposited the remainder into our declared bank accounts. That leads me to believe that the IRS has SBTBG's account info, and SBTBG has ours.
Since this likely affects thousands of TurboTax customers, it would be nice to have a clear, definitive communication of how this will work on the TurboTax website and via emails to affected customers.
This is the latest statement we have:
"The IRS is sending stimulus payments to eligible taxpayers who filed a tax return in either 2019 or 2018 and chose direct deposit, and is depositing some stimulus payments onto prepaid debit cards for filers that chose to receive their refund through that method.
For the majority of prepaid debit card holders there is nothing more to do as the stimulus payment will be deposited to their account. If your customer no longer has access to their debit card, we encourage them to visit https://turbodebitcard.intuit.com"
We are telling you what we know. We do not want to spread misinformation.
Please use the link below for the latest from the IRS:
Thank you for using TurboTax and please stay safe and strong.
Thank you @KrisD15 , but my question pertains to direct deposit of refunds to a bank account
once it is paid by the Treasury Department. It is not about debit cards, TurboCards, Green Dot
cards, etc. - which, to my understanding, work as a kind of advance loan on your refund. I did not choose that option, I chose straight direct deposit to my bank account upon payment by the
IRS.
As such, I would expect to not encounter any obstacles in receiving the stimulus payment as
direct deposit due to a fee payment option offered by TurboTax. Intuit would be in a very,
very, very bad position if they allow that to happen to the thousands of customers who chose this option.