I know what you’re thinking. A gaming website writing about the IRS Get My Payment website throwing a “payment status not available” message must be clickbait. Well, like you, we at GameRevolution have been affected by this error, and the message “we cannot determine your eligibility for a payment at this time” isn’t a big help for those who desperately need the IRS stimulus check.
Fortunately, like with game errors, you can read between the lines with the “payment status unavailable” message on the IRS website. It’s important not to panic, as this message doesn’t mean you’re not getting the stimulus check. Instead, it just means the Economic Impact Payment section of the IRS site is just as busted as the rest of it.
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What does “Payment Status Not Available” mean when I check Get My Payment on the IRS website?
Seriously @IRSnews tried checking on my impact relief payment only to find its not working. Payment status not available. #getmypayment pic.twitter.com/P5jFcHJmlS
— danielle nisim (@dandusha14) April 15, 2020
First and foremost, if you get a message on the Get My Payment website that states your eligibility for a payment can’t be determined, it doesn’t mean you’re not getting a check. It merely means that the website couldn’t identify the status of your payment via the database it has access to. So, what’s the problem?
Any number of things could cause you to get the “payment status not available” message:
- Slightly incorrect address.
- Overloaded servers.
- Your payment hasn’t been processed yet.
If you’ve ever tried to get a tax transcript from the IRS website, you’ll know that it requires you to enter the address on your tax return very precisely. It can be assumed that the Get My Payment lookup has the same strict requirements. So, if you haven’t gotten your stimulus check and you’re getting the message stating the website can’t determine your eligibility, check the address you’re entering against your tax return and make sure it’s an exact match.
The IRS servers are also likely overloaded by people attempting to check the status of their stimulus check. You may just have to check back a little later when some of the traffic has died down.
If you’re worried about whether you’ll get the stimulus package or not, make sure that you qualify via the IRS website. Additionally, if you did not file 2018 or 2019 taxes, make sure you provide your payment info via the Economic Impact Payments section of the IRS site.
