I’ve received “Status Unavailable” when checking on my second stimulus payment

Taxpayers who have checked the status of their stimulus check with the IRS Get My Payment tool and received the message “Payment Status #2 – Not Available” will not receive a second stimulus check automatically, the IRS told CNBC Make It Tuesday night.

The agency has started automatically depositing and mailing out millions of the economic impact payments, worth up to $600 for individuals and each of their child dependents.

And while many Americans have received their second stimulus payments as of Tuesday night, the IRS now says that people receiving the Payment Status #2 message on the Get My Payment tool will have to wait until they file their 2020 taxes to get the payment, even if they received the first stimulus check with no issues. 

“The IRS advises people that if they don’t receive their Economic Impact Payment, they should file their 2020 tax return electronically and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their tax return to get their payment and any refund as quickly as possible,” notes the agency.

A spokesperson for the agency did not clarify why this is the case or why the issue seemed to affect those who had filed their 2019 taxes through H&R Block and TurboTax in particular.

Payments also sent to incorrect bank accounts

Many people — particularly those who filed their 2019 tax returns with H&R Block and TurboTax — are also reporting that their payments were sent to incorrect bank accounts.

The IRS says the banks that received the payments will need to return the money, and then the IRS can reissue them to the correct accounts.

As of Tuesday night, some people who filed via H&R Block and initially had their payments sent to the wrong account reported to CNBC Make It that their stimulus payments had been deposited successfully into their actual checking accounts.

Only the IRS can issue the stimulus payments, so the agency is encouraging people to check its website for updates about ongoing issues, rather than their financial institutions or tax preparers. It also notes that its phone representatives don’t have additional information beyond what’s on the IRS website.