The online IRS portal says that my payment status for the second stimulus is not available. I read that this means we have to file it on our taxes to receive. How?

It sounds like you may have been one of the taxpayers who was affected by an IRS processing error that delayed payments.  

We are happy to share that TurboTax customers who were affected by the IRS processing error that delayed some stimulus payments should begin seeing deposits into their accounts as soon as January 8, 2021. 

This update may not be reflected in the Get My Payment tool at the IRS due to the focus on efforts to distribute the payments. 

These payments will be distributed to the account listed for your federal refund on your 2019 tax return.  If you did not have a refund in 2019, did not receive your 2019 refund via direct deposit, or did not file a return, the IRS may not have your direct deposit information and you should expect to either receive a check or to claim the payment on your 2020 tax return.

If you do not see a payment either in your bank account or your mailbox by January 15, 2021, you should claim your payment via the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 tax return.  Please hold off filing returns until after this date to ensure that you are preparing the most accurate return possible.

If you should need to claim the credit on your tax return, you are encouraged to file early (but after January 15) to receive these funds as quickly as possible.  In TurboTax, you will enter information about the credit near the end of the interview in the Final Review section of the program. 

More information about the payments and any additional updates can be found at the following links:

• IRS Updates on the Second Stimulus
• IRS Statement about Second Economic Impact Payments
• Why Haven't I Received My Second Stimulus Check?
• TurboTax updates on the second stimulus