IRS Has Sent 88 Million Coronavirus Payments Totaling $158 Billion
Taxes

IRS Has Sent 88 Million Coronavirus Payments Totaling $158 Billion

Jonathan Ernst

The Internal Revenue Service said Friday that it had issued 88.1 million Economic Impact Payments totaling nearly $158 billion as of April 17.

The tax agency also released a geographical breakdown of the payments. Unsurprisingly, California and Texas — the most populous states — top the list, with residents having received $15.9 billion and $14.4 billion, respectively. The highest average payments ($2,048) went to Utah, likely as a result of larger families in the state, while the lowest ($1,422) went to the District of Columbia, where higher incomes may have made many residents ineligible for the full direct payments, as The Wall Street Journal’s Richard Rubin notes.

Rubin reports that the next wave of IRS payments is set to go out over the next few days, with payments likely arriving by April 29. Those next payments, he says, will likely go to tax filers who provided the IRS with their bank information online by midday on April 22 and to Social Security beneficiaries who don’t file tax returns. “The IRS hasn’t released amounts, but this round of payments will put the $292 billion program of one-time payments—$1,200 per adult and $500 per child—well beyond its halfway point,” Rubin writes.

People waiting to get their payments by check may have to wait far longer — potentially months, in some cases — because the government is only able to print about 5 million checks a week, according to Rubin.

The IRS says that more than 150 million payments will be sent out in all. Here’s the agency’s breakdown of payments sent as of April 17 (you can also see the list on the IRS website):

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