WASHINGTON—One of the most eagerly awaited pieces of the recently passed $2-trillion CARES Act is the checks in amounts up to $1,200 (plus more for each child) that are to go to many Americans.
But when those checks will be distributed has been the big question. The IRS is now saying it wants to issue as many of the checks electronically as it can, with one top congressional aide saying the checks should start going out in a matter of weeks, Politico reported.
The IRS said it will issue paper checks to some people, though that will take longer because the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the government office that actually makes the payments, can only process so many so quickly, Politico said.
“Because policymakers want to issue the payments as fast as possible, the IRS is exploring whether it would be quicker to issue some payments on debit cards, instead of sending checks,” Politico said.