FACT CHECK: Are $1,400 Stimulus Checks Being Distributed In June 2022?

Anna MockJune 8, 2022

A post shared on Facebook claims $1,400 stimulus checks will “start going out this weekend.”

Verdict: Misleading

While some states are sending stimulus checks to residents, the federal government has no new plans to distribute stimulus checks. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) confirmed Congress has not approved a new stimulus plan.

Fact Check:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently warned against “scams involving jobs, stimulus checks and tax refunds,” according to CNBC. IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a June 6 press release that scammers are using the pandemic as a way to obtain personal information from individuals.

The latest example appears to be a June 1 post shared on Facebook that claims Americans can expect a new round of $1,400 stimulus checks to start “going out this weekend.”

This claim is misleading. While some individual states, including Maine and New Mexico, are sending additional stimulus payments to some residents, according to Newsweek, there is no evidence to suggest the federal government is issuing another round of stimulus checks. The federal government issued three rounds of stimulus checks to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the most recent being $1,400 checks distributed beginning in March 2021, according to USA.gov.

“This is a wildly inaccurate claim that has been circulating on some social media sites for months,” reads a statement the IRS emailed to Check Your Fact. “People shouldn’t fall for this. No new stimulus payment program has been approved by Congress.”

“There are no stimulus checks going out in the US this weekend,” said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, in an email to Check Your Fact. “Congress has not authorized any additional stimulus checks for anytime in the future. The Biden Administration has no plans to send out additional checks. This is an Internet rumor that is completely untrue.”