People Waiting On A Stimulus Payment Will Soon Be Able To Contact IRS Agents Directly

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) —Many Americans are still waiting to receive their stimulus checks from the federal government.

Now, the IRS is sending those people letters explaining the hold-up and how to contact agents directly.

Diana Munoz is out of work and waiting on her stimulus money, but every time she logs on to the IRS website she receives a message saying, "payment status not available."

"There is nowhere we can either write or contact the government telling them this is not correct, what information do you need to correct it.  It's just like, this is how it's going to be and that's it," Munoz said.

"It's the most frustrating message you can receive at a time like this," said finance expert Zack Friedman.

Friedman, the author of The Lemonade Life, recently wrote an article in Forbes titled, "What 'Payment Status Not Available' Really Means."

"The first, and this is probably what people don't want to hear, is that you may not qualify for a stimulus check."

Only those who make less than $99 thousand as a single filer, $198 thousand as a married or joint filer, or $112 thousand as a head of household will receive a stimulus payment

"The most likely reason you are receiving that is that there is some processing is going on at the IRS, so that could mean you filed a tax return for 2018 or 2019 recently and it's still being processed," Friedman said.

"Similarly if you are receiving federal benefits, so that could be social security, disability, or veterans benefits, your information will not show up currently on the "get my payment" tool."

Information is being processed by another federal department, which could cause a delay.

It's likely the reason army veteran David Allen hasn't received his money yet.

"Personally I talk to all the veterans, people on SSI, my daughter, and they have never received anything, any of this money," Allen said.

The IRS is updating the "Get My Payment" section of its website every day, but it is also now sending out letters to every person who will get a stimulus payment.

The letter will tell you if there is a hold up with your money, and it will include a way for you to contact the IRS — a big step since the IRS hasn't been accepting phone calls.

Beginning next week, the IRS will send out five million payments per week beginning with the Americans who make the least amount of money and ending with those who make the most.