Subscribe to Outbreak, a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on global business, delivered free to your inbox.
Could ALL CAPS be the secret to tracking your stimulus check?
After weeks of complaints about people getting the dreaded “payment status not available” error message on the IRS’s Get My Payment portal, some Twitter users think they may have found the key.
Yes, some users have found that by entering their street address in all caps, they are able to view the status of their payments. One Coins2Day editor, who had been unable to access the status of his payment for weeks, tried the trick today. He inputted his address in all caps, and was ushered through to the verification page where he was asked to submit tax information from previous years to verify it was him. Then he was asked to submit his bank account information and was informed that his money would be direct deposited into his account.
Other Twitter users have said they have found success by, for example, entering “Unit 2” rather than “#2” for their apartment. But some still voiced frustration, saying the system would only allow for so many variations before kicking them out for 24 hours.
It is possible, however, that the discovery of the all caps trick just neatly coincided with a systemwide upgrade at the IRS.
The IRS announced Sunday that it had “adjusted several items related to the online tool, which debuted on April 15. The additional changes will help millions of additional taxpayers with new or expanded information and access to adding direct deposit information.” In a press release on the agency’s website, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig encouraged everyone who had previously been unable to see the status of their payment to “check back in and visit Get My Payment.”
The agency says that those hoping to track their payment will need three key pieces of information:
- Social Security number
- Date of birth, and
- Mailing address used on their tax return.
The IRS did not immediately respond to Coins2Day’s query about whether using all caps is recommended, or whether the users were able to get through as a result of the portal upgrades. But, in any case, for anyone desperate for their stimulus check, it’s certainly WORTH A TRY.
Our mission to help you navigate the new normal is fueled by subscribers. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today.
More must-read finance coverage from Coins2Day:
—Why Goldman Sachs thinks Q1 GDP will be “worse than it looks”
—5 lessons for the coronavirus recovery, from an expert on success and failure in crisis
—What the law says about forcing employees back to the office
—This time, the banks were ready: How the Big Four prepared to survive the coronavirus
—Where investors can find income in a coronavirus-crushed market
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Coins2Day podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: Why the banks were ready for the financial impact of coronavirus
Subscribe to Coins2Day’s Bull Sheet for no-nonsense finance news and analysis daily.
