Stimulus check timeline under threat? Here’s what could delay your third payment

The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed in the House of Representatives late Friday night, after hours of debate. But the early victory doesn’t mean a third stimulus check is days away. In fact, this could be the first of up to three votes before the final bill is signed into law. The stimulus bill is projected to pass along party lines, using an unusual political maneuver called budget reconciliation. But a thorny debate over the $15 minimum wage hike contained in the House bill could prolong the Senate vote, and also delay the $1,400 stimulus checks by days or weeks. 

In addition to that, the third stimulus check timing to arrive during tax season could make things messy, and it doesn’t help that the IRS already faces a complex new stimulus check formula and set of qualifications it has to follow. Plus, the issue of priority payment groups means some may check their checks weeks before others, especially if there’s a delay of any sort (for example, if you recently moved.)

We mapped out possible dates you could expect the IRS to deliver the first wave of checks, the IRS deadline to send the last payment this time and more. Here are additional details on a “targeted” third check and every way you could get more money, less money or no new check at all. By the way, here’s every important difference between the $1,400, $600 and $1,200 checks and all the money you could get for child care and older adults. This story was updated with new information.

Stimulus check: Projected timeline, why it could go out in waves

Democrats, who hold the majority in Congress (by virtue of a Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote in the Senate), have a goalpost of March 14 to pass the final version of the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill — this is the date federal unemployment insurance for $300 a week expires. If the Senate makes substantial changes on the COVID-19 bill and passes it with amendments, it would go back to the House for another vote. What happens if the timeline slips a week as a result? We factor that in below.

Here’s what also affects stimulus delivery dates. The IRS organized the first two payment rounds according to payment groups, with direct deposit recipients the first in line, followed by people receiving physical checks and then EIP cards. Using the timeline from the second payment, we can take an educated guess as to when the IRS could start sending the first checks for each group.

Complicating matters, the IRS is also dealing with tax returns at the same — more on that below. Keep in mind, it could take weeks for the IRS to process every group’s funds, so consider the possible dates below as just a starting point. We refresh this timeline as the situation evolves.