This Stimulus Status Hack Gets Around That IRS Site Error You're Getting
By Dave Basner
April 29, 2020
As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the government is mailing out one-time stimulus checks of up to $1,200 a person. Some people already received theirs via direct deposit, while the first wave of physical checks started arriving this week. However, millions of Americans still have not gotten theirs. Thankfully, the IRS has set up a page that lets you check the status of your cut of the stimulus package, but often times, it doesn't work and instead gives users a "payment status not available" error. If you've been getting that, there is a hack that can bypass it.
The site asks you to enter in your name and street address. If you do it normally, you're likely to get the error message, but if you write it in all caps, it'll probably work. According to people on Twitter, it's been very effective for them.
I *CANNOT* BELIEVE THIS ACTUALLY WORKED.
— Elisa (@ElisaRockDoc) April 26, 2020
I tried four addresses that are associated with my name and they all failed, only to put in my permanent address in ALL CAPS for it to work, I HATE THIS!!!! https://t.co/GPrF8olWvC
— S. Qiouyi Lu 🌾 陸秋逸 🐰 翟嬔琳 🍂 bespoke yellow peril (@sqiouyilu) April 27, 2020
The likely reason this works is because of the incredibly old and outdated programming language the IRS's site is coded with. No word on why they don't just ask everyone to enter the information in all caps.
Photo: Getty Images, IRS.gov