IRS Sent Some Stimulus Payments to Wrong Accounts – Bay News 9

Some Florida residents who used a tax preparer to file in 2019 may be experiencing a delay in getting their stimulus checks this week.

That’s because the IRS sent some stimulus payments to the tax preparer’s bank account rather than the taxpayers’.


What You Need To Know

  • Stimulus money was sent to a tax preparer rather than taxpayers
  • H&R Block is forwarding the money to the correct accounts
  • IRS did not return a request for comment

That’s why those affected did not recognize the account when they logged onto the “Get My Payment” website.

Naturally, they became worried that their money had been stolen.

“It showed a last four of a bank account that I was not familiar with,” said Jenipher King, from Largo. “So of course, my first instinct was to panic.”

Marc Glowacki from St. Petersburg said he had the same feeling when he checked on the status of his stimulus payment.

“I talked to my wife, and I was like ‘quite possibly somebody else may have our money,’” he said. “It was very unnerving to see that.”​

Both Glowacki and King said they used H&R Block to file their 2019 taxes. On Monday, H&R Block released this statement on Twitter:

“The IRS Get My Payment website may display an account number you don’t recognize. If you took a Refund Transfer, it may be reflecting that account number. Check your 2019 return to confirm. But don’t worry – we have sent these payments on to the method you chose for Refund Transfer: direct deposit, check or Emerald Card. The money should be there by the end of the day.”​

Glowacki said it’s a relief to know that he was not a victim of fraud but still wonders why it happened in the first place.

“It was so unusual to see because it didn’t happen with the first stimulus payment,” he said. “The first payment was sent to my bank account.”


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King said the same thing happened to her.

“I saw that it had the information from my stimulus payment, back in April of 2020, with the ending of my bank account number,” she said. “It’s a little more comforting knowing that it didn’t just go into a random bank account.” 

Spectrum News asked H&R Block about the discrepancy in bank account deposits between the two stimulus payments and the company sent this response:

“H&R Block understands stimulus checks are vitally important for millions of Americans. The IRS determines where second stimulus payments were sent, and in some cases, money was sent to a different account than the first stimulus payment last spring. We immediately deposited millions of stimulus payments to customers’ bank accounts and onto our Emerald Prepaid Mastercard® yesterday, and all direct deposits are being processed. If the IRS Get My Payment website displays an account number a customer doesn’t recognize, H&R Block customer service agents are ready to help with additional information at 800-HRBLOCK and @HRBlockAnswers on Twitter.”

Spectrum News also contacted the IRS media relations to find out why they’re sending stimulus checks to different accounts than they did last spring, but nobody from the agency got back to us.

According to the IRS website, anyone who gets benefits deposited to a Direct Express card may also see an account number they do not recognize. King has some advice for other taxpayers who think they’ve been scammed.

“Take a breath. Don’t panic. Don’t think somebody stole your money. Don’t panic when you can’t get a hold of the IRS,” she said. “My first suggestion would be to contact your filing company because H&R Block was extremely helpful.”

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