Ohioans issued more than $6.2 billion in stimulus money

The IRS today announced that more 3.5 million Ohioans already have received their stimulus payments, worth a combined $6.26 billion.

More payments will be made each week. Paper checks were expected to go out starting this week.

“The IRS, Treasury and partner agencies are working non-stop to get these payments out in record time to Americans who need them,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in a statement. “Tens of millions of people across the country are receiving these payments, and millions more are on the way. We encourage people to visit IRS.gov for the latest information, FAQs and updates on the payments.”

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The IRS expects to issue paper checks on a weekly basis at a rate of about 5 million per week, which is expected to take 20 weeks to complete, the memo states.

The IRS says more than 150 million payments will be distributed and millions of people who do not typically file a tax return are eligible for the money.

The checks will be issued to the lowest earning citizens first. The highest-income earners will be the last group to receive payment.

The Treasury and IRS initially estimated that about 171 million economic impact payments would be issued, and more than 100 million of the payments would be made by paper check.

But the IRS created an online Get My Payment tool on its website that many people have used to provide their banking information to get their checks quicker.

The House Committee said the IRS’ and Treasury’s estimate of stimulus recipients is likely too low.

The committee says there are as many as 150 million taxpayers who file returns with incomes that should make them eligible for stimulus money.

Also, there are about 30 million recipients of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income; up to 15 million non-filers who could qualify for payments; 6 million veterans and others who may be eligible.

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The first round of payments went to people whose bank account information the IRS had from federal tax returns, including some Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries who filed tax returns.

The IRS plans to send Social Security beneficiaries their stimulus payments by the end of this month via direct deposit.

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