What the IRS Get My Payment tool does
Get My Payment is the IRS's online tool that shows you the status of a payment the agency has sent to you — whether it arrived, where it went, and when. You enter your Social Security number, date of birth, and street address, and the tool tells you whether the IRS has processed a payment, what date it was sent, and which bank account or mailing address it went to. This is the only official IRS source for this information.
The tool covers refunds, advance payments on tax credits, and other payments the IRS initiates. It does not show payments you made to the IRS — for those, you would check your tax return status or payment records instead. Get My Payment updates once per day, usually overnight, so checking multiple times in a single day will show the same information.
You can access Get My Payment at irs.gov/get-my-payment without logging in. The IRS does not send you to this tool by email or text — if you receive a message claiming to be from the IRS with a link, do not click it.
Key Takeaways
- Get My Payment is free and available at irs.gov/get-my-payment; you do not need to create an account or log in.
- The tool shows whether a payment was sent, the date it was sent, and which account or address it was directed to.
- The IRS updates payment status once per day, so checking multiple times in one day will show the same result.
- If Get My Payment says a payment was sent but you have not received it, contact your bank or wait the number of days the tool indicates before following up.
How to use Get My Payment step by step
Go to irs.gov/get-my-payment and select "Check Payment Status." You will see a screen asking for three pieces of information: your Social Security number (or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number if you do not have an SSN), your date of birth, and your street address as it appears on your most recent tax return.
Enter each field exactly as it appears on your return. If your address has changed since you filed, use the address from the return you filed, not your current address. The tool is case-sensitive for street names, so if your return says "Oak" and you type "oak," it may not match. After you enter all three fields, select "Submit."
The tool will display one of four statuses: "Payment Status Not Available," "Payment Pending," "Payment Sent," or "Payment Delivered." Each status means something different and tells you what to do next.
Understanding each payment status
Payment Status Not Available means the IRS has not yet processed a payment under your name, or the information you entered does not match IRS records. Check that you entered your Social Security number, date of birth, and address exactly as they appear on your return. If you are certain the information is correct, the IRS may not have processed the payment yet — try again in a few days. If you filed your return recently, the IRS can take weeks to process it before sending any payment.
Payment Pending means the IRS has approved a payment and is preparing to send it, but has not yet released it to the bank or postal service. The tool will show an estimated send date. You do not need to do anything; the payment will be sent on or around that date. If the estimated date has passed and the status has not changed to "Payment Sent" after 24 hours, check again the next day, as the tool updates once per day.
Payment Sent means the IRS has released the payment to your bank (if it is a direct deposit) or to the U.S. Postal Service (if it is a check). The tool shows the date it was sent. For direct deposits, the money usually arrives within one to three business days after the send date, though some banks take longer. For checks, allow 7 to 10 business days from the send date. If you have not received the payment after that window, contact your bank or check your mail, then contact the IRS if it still has not arrived.
Payment Delivered means the bank has confirmed receipt of the direct deposit, or the check has been delivered to your address. If the status shows "Delivered" but you have not seen the money in your account, contact your bank — the payment may be pending in your account or may have been rejected due to a closed account or incorrect routing number. If the status shows "Delivered" for a check but you have not received it in the mail, contact the IRS.
What to do if your payment was sent but you have not received it
If Get My Payment shows "Payment Sent" and you have waited the appropriate number of days (one to three for direct deposit, 7 to 10 for a check), the first step is to contact your bank. Tell them the date the IRS sent the payment and ask whether it arrived in your account. The bank can see incoming deposits and can tell you if the payment was rejected, if your account was closed, or if there was a routing number mismatch.
If your bank confirms the payment never arrived, or if you cannot reach your bank, contact the IRS directly. Call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 (for individual returns) or 1-800-829-4933 (for business returns). Have your Social Security number, the date the payment was sent according to Get My Payment, and your bank account or mailing address ready. The IRS can investigate whether the payment was sent to the wrong account or address and can issue a replacement payment.
For checks, also check your mail carefully — checks can take longer than the estimated window, especially if your address is rural or if postal delays occur. If you have waited 14 days from the send date and still have not received the check, contact the IRS to report it missing.
Common reasons Get My Payment shows no status
The most common reason is that you entered your information incorrectly. The tool is exact — your address, Social Security number, and date of birth must match your tax return word for word. If you recently moved, use the address on the return you filed, not your new address. If you filed jointly with a spouse, use your own Social Security number, not your spouse's.
A second reason is that the IRS has not yet processed your return. If you filed recently, the IRS can take 21 days or longer to process it, especially during tax season. Check Get My Payment again after a few days. If you filed months ago and still see no status, your return may have an error or may be held for review — contact the IRS at the number above.
A third reason is that you are checking for a payment that was not issued. Get My Payment only shows payments the IRS sends to you. If you owe taxes or if your return resulted in no refund, there will be no payment to track. If you received a notice from the IRS about a payment, but Get My Payment shows no status, contact the IRS to confirm what payment you should expect.
How to protect yourself from scams
The IRS does not contact people by email, text message, or social media to tell them about payments or to ask them to check their status. If you receive a message claiming to be from the IRS with a link to "check your payment," do not click it — it is a scam. Scammers create fake websites that look like irs.gov and steal your Social Security number and personal information when you enter it.
Always go to Get My Payment by typing irs.gov/get-my-payment directly into your browser, or by searching "IRS Get My Payment" and clicking the official IRS link. Do not click links in emails, texts, or social media posts. If you are unsure whether a message is real, contact the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040 before entering any personal information anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does Get My Payment update?
Get My Payment updates once per day, usually overnight. If you check multiple times in the same day, you will see the same status. If the status has not changed after 24 hours and you expected it to, check again the next day. The tool may show a delay if the IRS is processing a high volume of payments.
Can I use Get My Payment to check on a payment my spouse received?
No. Get My Payment only shows payments sent to the Social Security number you enter. If you filed a joint return, use your own Social Security number to check your payment, and your spouse should use theirs to check theirs. If you need information about your spouse's payment, your spouse should check Get My Payment themselves or contact the IRS.
What if Get My Payment says the payment was sent to the wrong address?
If the address shown is incorrect, contact the IRS when ready at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS can issue a replacement payment to your correct address or to your bank account. Have your correct address ready. If a check was sent to an old address, ask the IRS whether you can intercept it or whether a replacement will be issued instead.
Does Get My Payment work on mobile phones?
Yes. Get My Payment is accessible on any device with a web browser, including phones and tablets. The website is designed to work on smaller screens. You enter the same information (Social Security number, date of birth, and address) and receive the same status information as you would on a computer.
What if I never received a notice that a payment was coming?
The IRS does not always send a notice before issuing a payment. You may discover a payment by checking Get My Payment on your own, or you may see it appear in your bank account. If you received a notice from the IRS about a specific payment but Get My Payment shows no status, contact the IRS to confirm the payment details and expected arrival date.