The IRS will give you an opportunity this tax season to establish direct deposit or fix errors. There's a lot to know.
Sarah Tew/CNETToday, Feb. 12, the IRS begins accepting and processing 2020 tax returns. Whether you submit your return now or wait until later in the tax-filing season, there's one thing you should strongly consider: setting up direct deposit with the IRS when you file. There are benefits when it comes to receiving your tax refund and a future third stimulus check, if and when Congress approves another direct payment.
More than eight out of 10 taxpayers use direct deposit to get their tax refunds, according to Benefits.gov. In addition, the IRS and US Treasury sent out more than 100 million payments by direct deposit with the second stimulus check. Some people are even required by the US Treasury to use direct deposit to receive their money, such as Social Security beneficiaries.
We understand if you're hesitant to share personal banking details with another entity, and there are two potential drawbacks that some may encounter -- we'll explain those below. Overall, you may find the benefits of setting up direct deposit with the IRS are compelling this year. There are also distinct benefits to filing your 2020 taxes earlier. We'll tell you how to do it.
You can get your tax refund back weeks sooner
When you file your taxes, you usually have the option to add a bank account so you can receive your refund through direct deposit. "The best and fastest way to get your tax refund is to have it electronically deposited for free into your financial account," the IRS says. You can have your money deposited in up to three different accounts if you'd like to split up your tax refund.
Read more: New child tax credit rules could give your family a check every month for a year
You can also expect a quicker refund if you combine direct deposit with electronic filing, rather than printing out and mailing in paper tax returns. In fact, the IRS expects nine out of 10 taxpayers will receive their refund within 21 days of when they file electronically with direct deposit, if there are no issues with their tax return.
You should also be aware that the IRS is asking taxpayers to avoid filing paper returns, if possible. Filing your return the old-school way could add to the processing delay the IRS is already experiencing as a result of a backlog of 6.9 million unprocessed paper returns from last year. Filing your tax return closer to the beginning of tax season rather than toward the deadline will also set you up to get your tax return faster -- and any unpaid stimulus check money, too.
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You could also receive your next stimulus check faster
On the whole, people who had direct deposit set up with the IRS received their first and second stimulus checks much sooner than those who didn't. Now that a proposed third stimulus check is on the table, you'll want to get your direct deposit information set up as soon as possible. To do this, you'll need to enter your banking information when you file your 2020 taxes this year.
Since it's too soon to know if new direct deposit registrations would open up for a third stimulus check, your safest bet is to sign up now if you'd like to receive a possible future $1,400 or $2,000 check the fastest way possible.
Read more: Forget your tax refund. Stimulus checks are why you should file early this year
If a third stimulus check is approved, you could get it sooner with direct deposit.
Sarah Tew/CNETIt costs the US less to receive your refund via direct deposit
Each paper refund check issued costs US taxpayers more than $1, but only a dime for each direct deposit made, according to the IRS. In 2019, 125.3 million refunds were issued, with around 23 million sent by mail, according to Bankrate. That means in 2019, it cost taxpayers roughly $23 million for paper check refunds to be sent out, and roughly $12.5 million for direct deposit.
Read more: This is how you'll track your 2020 tax refund once the IRS starts processing returns
Correct these errors now
Unfortunately, the IRS never let recipients of the second stimulus check set up direct deposit or fix any bank account errors, resulting in this group needing to claim their missing money as a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2020 taxes. To prevent this from happening again, make sure you sign up for direct deposit when you file your tax return. It could help you get your check faster.
Also, if you'd like to have your tax refund spread out across several accounts, now's the time to do that, too. When setting up direct deposit on your taxes, you can add up to three different bank accounts, which can be beneficial if you're using one as a savings account.
Are there any potential downsides of direct deposit?
When it comes to stimulus check delivery, the second round of checks revealed two issues that affected millions of people (a relatively small percentage of all direct-deposit recipients).
Since the IRS didn't open up direct deposit registration through the Get My Payment tracking tool, anyone who closed or changed bank accounts between the first and second checks was unable to make the correction. If their checks were returned to the IRS, it's likely this group will need to claim their payments using the Recovery Rebate Credit.
The second issue to know about is that the IRS sent direct deposit transfers to millions of temporary bank accounts used by tax preparation software like TurboTax and Jackson Hewitt (these accounts are a typical part of the third-party tax preparation process). As a result, there were delays with second stimulus check delivery to this group, as the IRS and the companies attempted to untangle the problem. While many may need to claim the stimulus check credit in their taxes, the companies have promised to work with clients to ease the process.
Direct deposit is cheaper than receiving a check.
Sarah Tew/CNETHow to set up direct deposit with the IRS when you submit your tax return
When filing taxes, select Direct Deposit as your refund method through your tax software, then type in your bank account and routing numbers -- you can still add your bank account information even if you're not getting a refund. You can find your account and routing number on your bank's website when you sign in, call your bank branch or locate the numbers on a check. You can also give your tax preparer this information if you don't file your own taxes.
If you're a nonfiler, that is, someone who is not usually required to file taxes, but you're filing for the Recovery Rebate Credit to get a missing stimulus check, you'll need to file Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR (PDF).
The IRS says your refund should only be deposited directly into a US bank or US bank-affiliated account, and that it needs to be in your name, your spouse's name or both if it's a joint account.
For more information, here's what you need to know about stimulus checks and your 2020 taxes. Plus, how much money you could get with a third stimulus check and when and how to request an IRS payment trace.
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