Question: Regarding the third stimulus (808ne.ws/kline314), how do I update my address? I really need this money because this time I will get it for my kids, who are 17 and 18 and still in high school and didn’t get anything last time because of their age. I am their sole source of support, except for summer jobs that they don’t even have to file taxes for.

Answer: The Internal Revenue Service says that the fastest way to update your address in order to receive the latest Economic Impact Payment (aka stimulus) is to electronically file your 2020 federal income tax return with your current address, assuming that you have not already filed your taxes.

You can also notify the IRS of an address change by phone, using an IRS change-of-address form or submitting a written statement (find instructions at 808ne.ws/irsadd), but those aren’t the preferred methods for your purposes, the agency says.

The IRS prefers to issue Economic Impact Payments by direct deposit, but you indicated that the agency does not have your bank account information on file. The agency is processing the third round of EIPs in batches; the initial wave is by direct deposit, which began showing up in recipients’ accounts over the weekend. Eligible people without direct-deposit information on file will receive the payment as a check or a prepaid debit card in subsequent batches over the coming weeks, the agency said.

If the U.S. Post Office can’t deliver your mailed payment, it will be returned to the IRS. A few weeks after that, you may be able to add your bank account information to the Get My Payment tool on irs.gov and have your EIP reissued as a direct deposit. If you do not provide account information at that point, your payment would be reissued as a check or prepaid debit card, once the IRS has your updated mailing address.

Only people whose payment was returned to the IRS because the Postal Serv­ice was unable to deliver it will be able to use the Get My Payment tool to add bank account information, the agency said.

Last, as your question indicated, the third EIP does cover more dependents. The first two rounds covered only qualifying children under age 17. The third round will pay $1,400 for each qualifying dependent of any age, as long as the taxpayer claiming them as a dependent is eligible for the EIP, according to the IRS.

“Eligible families will get a payment based on all of their qualifying dependents claimed on their return, including older relatives like college students, adults with disabilities, parents and grandparents,” it says.

Q: I still have money on the debit card I got last time. Will they just add to it?

A: No. Some Economic Impact Payments will be issued as prepaid debit cards, as they were the first two rounds, but new cards will be mailed out. Third-round payments won’t be added to existing cards. Also, the IRS is reminding people that even if they previously received a check, they might get a debit card this time — so be on the lookout over the coming weeks.

Treasury officials said they have updated the mailing envelope to make the U.S. Department of the Treasury seal more prominent, hoping that fewer recipients will mistake the EIP card for junk mail. Everyone who receives an EIP, whether by direct deposit, paper check or prepaid debit card, should subsequently receive a letter in the mail confirming that a payment was issued.

Auwe

So much for being a responsible citizen and having income taxes deducted from my unemployment benefits all along and filing my taxes as soon as possible. Now I have to wait for the IRS to give me that money back! — A reader

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.