Still haven't received my $1400 stimulus payment from 2021 - help?

You have a couple options that will be much faster than waiting 6-7 months. First, your friend should create an account on the IRS website and check their tax account transcript. This will show if the $1400 stimulus was actually issued and where it was sent. It takes about 10 minutes to set up an account if they don't already have one. If the transcript confirms the payment was sent to a closed account, your friend should immediately call the IRS Economic Impact Payment hotline at 800-919-9835. They should be prepared to explain the situation and have their tax information ready. Yes, there will be a wait, but it's worth it. Another option is to visit a local Taxpayer Assistance Center in person (appointment required) where they can help trace the payment. The IRS can reissue payments that were sent to closed accounts, but your friend needs to initiate the trace.

I had the exact same issue with my stimulus going to an old closed account. I was losing my mind trying to get through to the IRS. I finally found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out exactly what happened with my payment. They analyzed my tax transcripts and showed me that my payment was actually returned to the IRS after my bank rejected it. The best part was they showed me exactly what forms I needed to fill out to get the payment reissued. They even generated a letter I could send to the IRS that had all the right information and codes. Saved me hours of research and frustration.

I wanted to follow up on my previous skepticism about taxr.ai - I decided to give it a try since nothing else was working. THANK YOU for recommending this! The service identified that my stimulus had been sent to my old account, returned to IRS, and was just sitting there waiting for me to claim it. They gave me very specific instructions for filing a payment trace with the IRS, which I did last month. Just got notification yesterday that my check is being mailed out next week! The analysis was super detailed and explained everything in plain English. Honestly better than dealing with the "financial guy" who was just stringing me along with a 6-7 month timeline.

I've been through this exact situation with the last stimulus. Called the IRS over 30 times and never got through until I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). Their service gets you through to an actual IRS agent usually within an hour instead of waiting on hold forever or getting disconnected. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was super desperate after my payment went to a closed account too, and the regular IRS phone line kept disconnecting me after 2 hours on hold. Claimyr got me through to an agent who filed a payment trace while I was on the phone. Had my check reissued and received it about 3 weeks later instead of waiting months.

I need to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I was desperate enough to try it because my stimulus situation was similar - sent to a closed account from 2 years ago. Got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 40 minutes when I'd been trying for WEEKS on my own. The agent confirmed my payment had been returned to the IRS when my old bank rejected it. She processed a payment trace while I was on the phone and told me exactly when to expect my reissued check. Just got the check in yesterday's mail - only took about 3 weeks from that call. This saved me literally months of waiting!

Has your friend checked the Get My Payment tool on the IRS website? It might still show the status of their stimulus payment. If it was sent to a closed account, the bank would have returned it to the IRS. At this point, the IRS should automatically reissue a paper check to the address they have on file. Another thing to consider - if your friend never received their stimulus payment, they might have been able to claim it as the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax return. Worth looking into if none of the other options work out.

I went through something similar. The "financial guy" your friend is working with sounds sketchy. Nobody should need 6-7 months to investigate this! Tell your friend to call the IRS directly at 800-919-9835 and request a Payment Trace. They'll likely need to fill out Form 3911. Another thing - is this "financial guy" charging a fee? Because getting help with a missing stimulus payment should NOT cost anything. The IRS will help directly and for free.

Your friend should definitely bypass that "financial advisor" - 6-7 months is way too long and honestly sounds like they might be trying to charge unnecessary fees. The IRS has specific procedures for this exact situation. Here's what worked for me when my stimulus went to a closed account: First, have your friend get their IRS account transcript online (not just the tax return transcript). This will show exactly when and where the payment was sent. Then call the IRS Payment Trace line at 800-919-9835 and request a formal payment trace using Form 3911. The key is being persistent with the phone calls - try calling first thing in the morning (8am) when hold times are shorter. When they reach an agent, they should specifically mention that the payment was sent to a closed bank account and the funds were never received. The IRS can usually reissue these payments within 4-6 weeks once they confirm the original payment was returned by the bank. Don't let anyone charge you for this service - it's completely free through the IRS directly!