Many in the country are still waiting eagerly for their 3rd  federal stimulus check. The good news is, more payments are set to go out Wednesday, March 24th!  

In a statement issued Monday, the IRS said  stimulus check processing began on Friday, but will have an official pay date of  March 24. Some people may see $1,400 in their accounts earlier. Although anything before Wednesday will appear as provisional or pending payments. 

Much of America continues to struggle with income losses and rising costs in the techno-pandemic. These checks for $1,400 were authorized under the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Each eligible adult and dependent (child) will receive the $1400.

 Hopefully, the checks will provide some additional relief over a year after COVID closed down the economy and cost tens of thousands of American jobs. 

Unfortunately, how many checks the IRS is sending is still unknown. And all the statements issued are fairly ambiguous. For example, the IRS claims a "large number" of the payments will be mailed. Unfortunately, the public must continue to guess what a “large number” would be.

 Early in March US Treasury and IRS officials said the plan is to send about 100 million payments within the first 10 days of distribution. 

As of last week, about 90 million people received checks. The majority of initial stimulus payments went out via direct deposit. Roughly 150,000 mailed checks or pre-paid debit cards went out to those who have no banking info on-file with the IRS.

Social Security Delays?

During the first stimulus round, Social Security recipients believed there were delays in getting those checks. In the Spring of 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, directed $1,200 to adults, including senior citizens. Social Security recipients seemed to be the last to receive the checks. 

The IRS said it is "working directly" with the Social Security Administration, Railroad Retirement Board, and Veterans Administration to make sure it has accurate information for people who receive benefits from those agencies. They did not give an estimate as to when those payments might be sent.

"IRS.gov will provide more information about timing of payments as soon as it becomes available," the IRS said in the Monday statement. 

Tracking Stimulus Checks via Get My Payment Website

The only way to get information about the pending 14,000 checks is the "Get My Payment" (GMP) website about when you might receive your payment. 

The GMP tool is again proving frustrating for most consumers. The site is currently not allowing updates for addresses or banking information. 

In many cases, the site doesn't provide clear information for most people. And unless a check is currently “in-the-mail" users are receiving the "Payment Status Not Available" message.

So the IRS hasn't processed any payment for you yet, or you aren't eligible for a check. It also doesn't help people who are eager to learn when their payments might arrive.

The website says not to attempt to call the IRS for the status of your check. 

So the good news is, another round of checks should be hitting banks and mailboxes this week. The downside is, you may not know if your check is coming until you get it.

The IRS and Treasury didn't immediately return requests for comment.