Will stimulus payment go into tax prepares bank account

[Shirlagarcia]

A tax preparation agency has tax refunds deposited into their bank account so that they are assured they'll be paid for the cost of preparing. Once the refund is deposited, they deduct their preparation fee and send the remainder of the refund to clients.  Will the stimulus payment be deposited into the tax preparation agency's bank account or will their bank reject it?  Is there a way to change routing numbers before stimulus payments go out tomorrow, 4/9/20?  The tax prep agency doesn't have an answer.

[MinhT1]

According to the IRS:

The IRS does not have my direct deposit information. What can I do?

In the coming weeks, Treasury plans to develop a web-based portal for individuals to provide their banking information to the IRS online, so that individuals can receive payments immediately as opposed to checks in the mail.

[AmeliesUncle]

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@Shirlagarcia wrote:

A tax preparation agency has tax refunds deposited into their bank account so that they are assured they'll be paid for the cost of preparing. Once the refund is deposited, they deduct their preparation fee and send the remainder of the refund to clients.  

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Are you SURE that is what is happening?  In most cases, that type of thing is deposited into a third-party bank, and that bank distributes the fee to the preparer and the rest of your refund to you.  If that is the case, the stimulus should go directly to you.

If the tax preparation agency actually did deposit the refund into their own bank account, that is illegal.  You should report that tax agency to the IRS, and find another tax professional.

[AmyC]

Yes, that is illegal activity. A third party must be used.

We are still waiting for IRS guidance regarding updating or providing direct deposit information for the stimulus payments. 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:

IRS Coronavirus Tax Relief  

TurboTax Corona Virus Tax Center Updates