Social media and other websites have been buzzing with rumors in recent days regarding a new stimulus check worth around USD 2,600 that will be deposited in March 2025.
This announcement has given many people looking for financial relief optimism in a complex economic environment. A careful investigation revealed that there isn’t a formal statement attesting to the stimulus check’s existence.
The Irs Has Announced That There Will Be No Stimulus Check in March
Rumors about the new stimulus check have brought attention to how important it is to use caution when consuming information. Neither the U.S. Treasury Department nor the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have confirmed that a check for this amount was issued in March, and the IRS is the only agency that may announce stimulus check payments.
The fact that there are other financial aid programs in place is probably what confused thousands of Americans. Spreading unconfirmed information just causes people to have unrealistic expectations and become more uncertain.
A mix of optimism, attention-grabbing headlines, and a lack of source verification makes news about stimulus check payments popular. In this instance, the news spreads without question because of the potential for receiving such a large amount of money. Even though the USD 2,600 stimulus check is fraudulent, other authorized economic support initiatives could benefit a large number of citizens:
- Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): stimulus payment known for being available to low to moderate-income workers.
- Child Tax Credit (CTC): payments for eligible families in March and April.
- Inflation Relief Payments: implemented in some states to address the rising cost of living.
- Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI): continue to operate for beneficiaries.
- Tax refunds: for those who filed their 2023 tax return.
IRS cuts may lead to refund delays across the country
As part of President Donald Trump’s aggressive effort to reduce the size of the federal government, the IRS is facing a double whammy of a hiring moratorium and the potential loss of thousands of staff in the coming weeks. Numerous agencies, including the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, have already been impacted by drastic cost-cutting measures.
According to several accountants, taxpayers who want help or want quick return checks could suffer greatly from an IRS staffing shortage during tax season.
An independent IRS organization called the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) claims that the IRS already faces a labor deficit and has trouble recruiting and retaining employees. Additionally, Richard Pon, a certified public accountant in San Francisco, stated that mass firings will undoubtedly affect tax season since cuts will be felt immediately. Based on an IRS employee, here is what it could mean for American taxpayers:
- Processing centers will be understaffed. Paper returns, which generally take six to eight weeks, are projected to be delayed due to the increased processing times, potentially resulting in double, triple, or quadruple delays.
- Wait times in customer service lines will increase. Despite her four-year term, the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2024 Annual Report to Congress emphasizes phone service as a serious taxpayer issue, with layoffs expected to exacerbate the problem.
- Processing times might double. To meet the demands of this filing season, the IRS intends to reallocate people from other departments to cover filing season processing, which currently takes four to six months. This will double the processing time of letters and revised returns.
- Less work for the military. In a LinkedIn article, former IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said that military members and their spouses would have less work. According to him, military veterans make up over 10% of IRS staff members, including “on probation” new hires. Spouses of active military people also make up a large portion of IRS staff hired to work during filing season.
