IRS sending money to millions of Americans -- but it's not stimulus funds

ByDiane Wilson WTVD logo
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
IRS sending money to millions of Americans -- but it's not stimulus funds
Check your bank account! Millions of Americans will be getting money from the IRS, and it's not related to the stimulus money.

Millions of Americans will be getting money from the IRS, and it's not related to the stimulus money.

Instead, 13.9 million Americans are getting interest payments if they filed their tax returns on time but didn't get their refund yet.

According to the IRS, the payments average about $18 and will be made to taxpayers who filed their 2019 return by the July 15 deadline and are owed a refund but didn't get it yet.

In most cases, taxpayers who received their refund by direct deposit will have their interest payment direct deposited in the same account. Everyone else will receive a check. A notation on the check saying "INT amount" will identify it as a refund interest payment and indicate the interest amount.

WATCH: Still waiting on your stimulus check? This is how you can make sure you get your payment

There's a new push from the IRS on those pandemic stimulus payments for Americans.

We told you earlier this summer how the IRS had a backlog of tax returns to process due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IRS admits there are delays and are processing the returns as fast as they can. You can check the status of your tax refund here.

When it comes to the interest payments the IRS is sending out right now, the bad news is, it's not free money. By law, those interest payments are taxable if you get more than $10.