Question

Stimulus Direct Deposit: Paid TurboTax With My Refund. Does IRS Have MY Bank Account Info?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
April 12, 2020
4 replies
0 views

I’ve seen this asked numerous times with no straight answers... how will “Pay With My Refund” affect my stimulus payment via direct deposit? The return on TurboTax shows my bank account, but my refund came via deposit from Santa Barbara TPG. So what account number was ACTUALLY filed with the IRS? The Santa Barbara TPG site doesn’t address this scenario directly. Can TurboTax employees please answer this question?

TurboTax Premier Online

S

Sanderschan6494

Santa Barbara Bank will not be playing a role depositing stimulus money. Wen the tool comes up on the irs website u have to put in new direct deposit info or u will get a paper check

T

Tanta

Untrue

J

JohnA-NJAuthor

@Tanta , what is untrue?

K

KatrinaB48

If you received your refund via direct deposit after the fees were withheld then the IRS should have your direct deposit information. However, the IRS has not provided guidance on what types of financial accounts stimulus payments will be directly deposited into. Please view this IRS link for more information about the IRS Get My Payment application that will be available in mid-April. You can use this tool to check the status of your stimulus payment and enter your direct deposit information if necessary.

**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"

J

JohnA-NJAuthor

Thanks for your answer. But in this scenario I wonder how the IRS can have the correct account info, since it is first deposited with the intermediary (Santa Barbara TPG) to deduct fees. Maybe there is a mechanism established for this with the IRS?

KathrynG3

It still depends on the IRS because of exactly what you said: "Maybe there is a mechanism established for this with the IRS?" This is what we are still waiting for IRS guidance about. We will have more information once the government finalizes the details.

In the meantime, you can visit the following links for the most recent updates:

IRS Coronavirus Tax Relief

TurboTax Corona Virus Tax Center Updates

@JohnA-NJ

J

JohnA-NJAuthor

On a side note, "Pay With My Refund" is a complete ripoff. I didn't notice the fine print... but they charge you a whopping $40 above and beyond the TT fee just to use this option! You're better off putting it on a CC. Never again. Ever.

T

Tanta

True. I don’t know how I didn’t use the free tool on the website.

T

Tanta

Oh and SBTG is not a parent company to Greendot.

J

JohnA-NJAuthor

[ NOTE - I'm not sure why this commentary keeps getting deleted. Am I saying something controversial or objectionable? I've made it clear it's my interpretation and I welcome corrections. ]

Unfortunately, there are still no clear answers for those of us who chose "Pay With My Refund"
with Santa Barbara TPG (SBTPG) acting as the intermediary using direct deposit into a bank
account (not a card). This is how I interpret multiple answers I’ve read from TurboTax support
staff so far:

* Even though YOUR bank account number appears in the direct deposit section, boxes 21(b) and
21(d) of the 1040 form you access via your TurboTax login, it does not necessarily mean it is
the account info that was filed with the IRS.

* More likely, your actual filing with the IRS had a routing/account number for SBTPG so they
could receive your refund, deduct the TurboTax fees, and then transfer the adjusted amount to
your account.

* If this is the case, it is possible that the IRS does NOT have your correct direct deposit
information.

* The TurboTax online support staff appear to have not yet been given guidance on this and are
awaiting answers as well.

* SBTPG’s site has a stimulus page that’s been cited on this forum, but as of now it does not
directly address TurboTax customers: https://www.sbtpg.com/coronavirus-stimulus-payment-info/

* There is no information the IRS can provide that speaks to this scenario, it is really a
question for Intuit and SBTPG to answer.

Looking forward, hopefully, either:

1) There is already an established mechanism in place between intermediaries like SBTPG and the
IRS in which they provide the customer’s ACTUAL account number secondarily with the original
filing in case it is needed for an occasion like this. If so, the IRS will already have our
account numbers and use them, or...

2) SBTPG will receive our stimulus payments and route them right into our bank accounts, just as
they did with our refunds, or...

3) SBTPG and/or Intuit are now actively working with the IRS to amend deposit account numbers
ASAP for "Pay With My Refund" customers so they can receive their stimulus deposits without
taking further action or incurring any delays.

I welcome any corrections if I’m wrong. 🙂

JohnB5677

Your stimulus check will go to the bank listed on your tax return.

If you have your tax return it is listed on page 2 of your 1040 on lines 21 b & c

It is also noted at the top of the filing Instructions.

**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"

J

JohnA-NJAuthor

Hi @JohnB5677 , thanks for your reply. Not to doubt what you say, but do you have definitive word on this?

As I've noted, the correct account numbers do indeed show on the return copy you can access in TurboTax.

But due to the "refund by proxy" switcharoo that happens when you go through SBTPG I am wondering how this actually works. Our refunds first went to SBTPG who then deducted the TurboTax fee and then deposited the remainder into our declared bank accounts. That leads me to believe that the IRS has SBTBG's account info, and SBTBG has ours.

Since this likely affects thousands of TurboTax customers, it would be nice to have a clear, definitive communication of how this will work on the TurboTax website and via emails to affected customers.