Third stimulus check: Here's what could delay or lower your payment

The third stimulus check is already hitting some bank accounts, just days after President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Act into law. But while some households will see the funds as early as this week, others may be in for a longer wait. 

About 85% of people will receive one of the $1,400 checks, Mr. Biden said on March 12. It's also likely that some of the issues that stymied delivery for some people in the previous two rounds of stimulus could cause a repeat situation the third time. For instance, some people who didn't have a bank account on file with the IRS during the previous two rounds of checks had to wait several weeks for debit cards or paper checks to reach their homes.  It's most likely that people who have filed their 2020 or 2019 tax returns and have a bank account on file with the tax agency will quickly receive their stimulus checks through direct deposit, based on the prior payment rollouts. That's because the IRS prioritizes getting the stimulus money out quickly to those it knows it can reach — and it's a massive effort, given that the tax agency has $422 billion in funds to distribute to more than 100 million taxpayers.