It feels like a lifetime ago, doesn't it? Back in early 2020, the world basically hit a giant "pause" button. Streets were empty, offices were dark, and the term "social distancing" went from a weird phrase to a daily rule. Amidst all that chaos, the biggest question on everyone's mind wasn't just about masks or hand sanitizer—it was about the money. Specifically, people kept asking: when did the first stimulus checks go out? Honestly, the timeline moved at a speed the federal government usually isn't capable of. The CARES Act (short for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) was signed into law on March 27, 2020. It was a massive $2.2 trillion package. Just two weeks later, the gears of the IRS and Treasury started grinding.
The Official Kickoff
The very first batch of direct deposits hit bank accounts during the week of April 13, 2020.
If you were one of the lucky ones with your banking info already on file from your 2018 or 2019 taxes, you probably woke up that Monday or Tuesday and saw an extra $1,200 (or more for families) sitting in your balance. For everyone else? It was a much longer, more frustrating game of "where is my mail?"
How the IRS Decided Who Got Paid First
The government didn't just throw all the money out of a plane at once. There was a very specific, tiered strategy. They prioritized people based on how easy they were to reach and how much money they made.
- Wave 1: Direct Depositers. These were the "easy wins" for the IRS. If they had your routing and account numbers, you were in that first mid-April wave.
- Wave 2: Social Security and RRB Recipients. By late April, the IRS began processing payments for people who didn't necessarily file taxes but received Social Security benefits.
- Wave 3: The Paper Check "Tiers." This is where it got kinda complicated. If you didn't use direct deposit, you had to wait for a physical check. The Treasury started mailing these out around April 24, 2020, but they didn't send them all at once.
They actually sent the paper checks in order of income. People with the lowest Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)—basically anyone making under $10,000—got their checks mailed first. Then, every week after that, they moved up the income ladder by $10,000 increments. If you were a single filer making $80,000 without direct deposit, you might not have seen that check until June or July.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the Amounts
There’s a common misconception that everyone just got a flat $1,200. That's not exactly how it worked. The "Economic Impact Payments," as the IRS formally called them, were actually an advance on a tax credit.
The baseline was $1,200 per eligible adult and $500 for each qualifying child under age 17. But those numbers started shrinking once your income hit certain thresholds. If you were single and made more than $75,000, or married filing jointly and made over $150,000, your check got smaller for every dollar over that limit.
Basically, the money "phased out" entirely if you made over $99,000 as a single person.
The Logistics Nightmare
You’ve got to remember that the IRS was working with skeleton crews. Offices were closing because of the pandemic. They had to build new tools like "Get My Payment" and a portal for "Non-Filers" from scratch in a matter of days.
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It wasn't perfect. Millions of people dealt with the "Payment Status Not Available" message, which became a meme in its own right because it was so unhelpful. Some people even received their stimulus as a "Prepaid EIP Card," which many people threw away thinking it was junk mail or a scam.
By the time the program wrapped up for the first round, the IRS had issued about 160 million payments. That is a staggering amount of individual transactions to handle in a few months.
Why the Timing Still Matters Today
You might think this is all ancient history. It isn't. The first stimulus check was technically the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit.
If you never got that first check—maybe you were a student who finally became independent, or you moved and the check got lost—you had to claim it on your 2020 tax return. Even now, if you find out you were eligible but missed out, the window to amend those old returns is closing fast.
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Actionable Steps if You're Still Missing Money
If you’re sitting there thinking, "Wait, I don't think I ever got that $1,200," here is what you need to do:
- Check your IRS Online Account. You can still log in to the official IRS website to see a record of your Economic Impact Payments. Look for "Notice 1444."
- Review your 2020 Tax Return. Look at Line 30 of your Form 1040. If there's a zero there and you were eligible, that was your missed opportunity.
- Request a Payment Trace. If the IRS records show they sent you a check but you never cashed it, you can file Form 3911. This tells the IRS to track down that specific check. If it was never cashed, they can credit your account.
- Gather your records. Keep any letters labeled "Notice 1444" or "Notice 1444-B." These are the golden tickets for proving what you did (or didn't) receive.
The first stimulus check was a weird, unprecedented moment in American history. It was the first of three rounds, followed by the $600 checks in December 2020 and the $1,400 checks in March 2021. But that first wave in April 2020 was the one that set the stage for how the government would try to keep the economy afloat during a global crisis.
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