Child Tax Credit: December End
Some families received another form of stimulus aid when the IRS in July deposited the first of six monthly cash payments into bank accounts of parents who qualify for the Child Tax Credit . Families on average received $423 in their first CTC payment, according to an analysis of Census data from the left-leaning advocacy group Economic Security Project.
Eligible families received up to $1,800 in cash through December, with the money parceled out in equal installments over the six months from July through December. The aid was due to the expanded CTC, which is part of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
Families who qualify received $300 per month for each child under 6 and $250 for children between 6 to 17 years old. Several families that spoke to CBS MoneyWatch said the extra money would go toward child care, back-to-school supplies and other essentials.
While progressives and some Democrats urged lawmakers to continue the enhanced CTC, it appears stalled at the moment. That means families won’t receive a CTC payment in January or beyond.
A $2000 Stimulus Check Petition Is Close To 3 Million Signatures
A Change.org petition that has collected more than 2.9 million signatures calls on Congress to send out a fourth stimulus check of $2,000 for adults and $1,000 for children on a monthly basis for the remainder of the pandemic. The petition notes that the recovery hasnt reached many Americans and points to the need for immediate checks and recurring payments so that we can keep our heads above water. While the Change.org petition is close to becoming one of the most popular on its website, whether it will have any effect is another question.
$1400 Stimulus Payments: Whos Eligible And How Much Will You Receive
Eligible U.S. adults will see $1,400 per each individual in their household, including adult dependents, such as college students.
That breaks away from earlier rounds of Economic Impact Payments, when dependents only qualified for a stimulus check if they were under age 17. The new inclusion means 13.5 million more individuals will receive stimulus payments, according to an analysis of data from the Census Bureau.
Dependents also havent always been up for a check as high as adults payments, with the first round of $1,200 stimulus checks only allocating them $500. The second round, however, sent $600 payments to everyone who qualified.
Yet, eligibility criteria is considerably stricter than different rounds. A good rule of thumb: If you received a full stimulus payment last time , you should receive that full $1,400 amount.
Individuals who make less than $75,000 in their adjusted gross income and married filers who earn a combined $150,000 will be eligible for the full $1,400 or $2,800 payments, respectively. For example, a married couple earning $140,000 jointly with one child and one adult dependent will receive $5,600 $1,400 multiplied by four.
Head of households will have to make less than $112,500 annually to qualify for the full payment.
The IRS and Treasury Department will use your most recently processed tax return on file to determine your stimulus payment eligibility. For most, thats either income based on 2020 or 2019.
Read Also: Who Qualifies For Golden State Stimulus
Third Payments Differed From Previous Economic Impact Payments
The third payments differed from the earlier payments in several respects:
- Income phaseout amounts changed. Payments were reduced for individuals with adjusted gross income of more than $75,000 . The reduced payments end at $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for married filing jointly. People above these levels did not receive any payment.
- Payment amounts are different. Most families received $1,400 per person, including all dependents claimed on their tax return. Typically, this means a single person with no dependents received $1,400, while married filers with two dependents received $5,600.
- Qualifying dependents expanded. Unlike the first two payments, the third payment was not restricted to children under 17. Eligible individuals received 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.
Will There Be Another Stimulus Check In 2022
by Maurie Backman | Published on Jan. 14, 2022
Many or all of the products here are from our partners that pay us a commission. Its how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts opinions arent influenced by compensation. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page.
Americans are hoping for one but is it in the cards?
Also Check: First Round Of Stimulus Checks
Fourth Stimulus Check: $2000 A Month Stimulus Checks
Congress provided three stimulus checks to qualifying Americans in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Like the previous three stimulus checks, a fourth stimulus check would come from Congress. While Democrats control Congress, there has been no serious effort to date to pass legislation that would provide $2,000 a month stimulus checks or even a fourth stimulus check. While the previous three stimulus checks were one-time stimulus checks, this petition calls for monthly stimulus checks. What is the rationale for recurring stimulus checks? Supporters say that a single stimulus check is insufficient to help Americans who are struggling financially due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This includes those who, like Bonin, work in the restaurant sector. Last year, Rep. Ilhan Omar and 55 Democrats sent a letter to President Joe Biden to support recurring stimulus checks. However, Biden doesnt support a fourth stimulus check or recurring stimulus checks. Currently, Biden is focused on Congress passing his legislative agenda, the Build Back Better plan, which doesnt include any stimulus checks.
Stimulus Check Scams And Hoaxes
Of course, popular demand for widely distributed stimulus payments, and the confusing political maneuvering that goes into crafting stimulus bills, creates an information gap that’s easily exploited by scammers.
Even with the first wave of stimulus checks in 2020, we saw bogus email messages that pretended to be from the IRS, promising “an important update on your Covid relief fund.” But they just took you to phishing sites that wanted your Social Security number and other sensitive bits of information.
Following the second stimulus bill at the beginning of 2021, those email phishing attempts were joined by scam phone calls demanding your personal details so that you could be “cleared” to receive more stimulus checks.
In March, as President Biden’s American Rescue Plan was making its way through Congress, new phishing emails promised the moon: a $4,000 stimulus check, a boost in the minimum wage, free meals and, best of all, priority treatment that let you skip lines at COVID-19 vaccination sites.
Most recently, cruel pranksters have been passing around posts on Facebook that a fourth stimulus check worth $2,500 is coming by the end of July. Don’t believe it, and don’t believe the phishing websites that claim to register you for child-tax-credit advance payments.
In fact, most parents and legal guardians don’t need to do anything to get the payments they’ll just show up in your mailbox or bank account.
Don’t Miss: Do You Have To File 2021 Taxes To Get Stimulus
Get Help To Pay Off Your Credit Cards
Many Americans have unfortunately had to put necessary and incidental expenses on their credit card during the pandemic. Through the power of compound interest, it’s disturbing how quickly debt can spiral out of control.
If you have less than $10,000 in debt you can use a personal loan from AmOne to pay off all your balances so you can consolidate your debt to one bill instead of multiple.
While it’s generally inadvisable except in dire cases for borrowers with limited options due to bad credit, online payday loans are also an option in cases of absolute emergency.
Trump Speaks Out About Vaccines To Right
Washington The federal government has sent out three rounds of stimulus checks to help people during the pandemic, but despite their political popularity, there’s no proposal on the table to deliver a fourth round.
You May Like: Irs Sending Letters About Stimulus 2021
Do People Need A Fourth Stimulus Check
According to CNBC, there is a case for a fourth stimulus check that goes beyond the calls from lawmakers. The Economic Security Project, a progressive organization that advocates for guaranteed income no matter what the state of the economy, says there’s a need for more stimulus checks.
We need at least one more check, said Adam Ruben.
Ruben, the campaign director at the Economic Security Project, also said that stimulus checks should be “automatic,” and not stalled as they were last summer when second stimulus check negotiations caused a long gap between the $1,200 and $600 payments.
There are signs of recovery, though. The June jobs report showed a gain of 850,000, which was better than expected, according to The New York Times. That’s the strongest one-month gain since last summer.
Likewise, the Commerce Department said that gross domestic product had grown at an annualized rate of 6.5% for April through June of 2021, surpassing the figure it had reached before the pandemic, the Washington Post reported. However, that was less than the 8% GDP growth some economists had forecast.
Regardless, certain lawmakers are pushing for relief.
This unprecedented moment demands an unprecedented response. People dont only need relief, they need stability, certainty, and predictability and the ABC Act delivers them exactly that,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal .
However, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, didn’t appear to agree.
I Get Ssi Should I Spend The Stimulus Money Within A Year What Can I Spend It On
Spend down your CARES Act EIP money before 12 months have passed since receiving the payment. You are not limited in what you can spend the money on. You can spend down on whatever you wish, including on gifts and charitable contributions. If you don’t spend it within 12 months, the Social Security Administration will count the money as a resource.
Also Check: How Much Is The New Stimulus Package
Why There Could Be A Fourth Stimulus Check
We’re starting off 2022 with a surge of COVID-19 cases, fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant. Health experts are saying that cases could peter off by late January. But if that doesn’t happen, and the outbreak persists, we may be in for months of disruptions.
That scenario could force businesses to shut down and layoffs to ensue. If that were to happen, and the economy were to decline, then it could make the case for another stimulus payment.
Fourth Stimulus Check Update: Monthly Payments Set To Resume In This Circumstance
Economic Impact Payments are definitively a thing of the past in the United States now that the country seems to be moving past the COVID-19 Pandemic, but some new hope could be on the horizon for another form of aid to citizens that will once again start giving some help as families struggle to keep up due to continually increasing prices from inflation and a supply chain crunch.
While President Joe Biden had initially hoped to extend the Expanded Child Tax Credits another year in his Build Back Better plan, the attempt was killed when the bill got stalled in the Senate, with Senator Joe Manchin refusing to join his party and approve it. However, while payments totaling $300 per month for children up to the age of 6 and $250 per month for children ages 6-17 arent coming anytime soon again, the idea behind them isnt dead completely, as Senator Mitt Romney is now proposing a plan of his own which will resume monthly payments for families with children if passed.
His plan called the Family Security Act, would send payments of $350 per month to eligible families with children ages0 0-5, as well as $250 per month to those with children ages 6-17. It would also allow expecting parents to apply for the benefit as well and begin receiving it four months prior to their childs due date. Families would be able to receive a maximum monthly payment of $1,250.
There is currently no framework on when Americans could expect to see the credit if the bill was passed.
Don’t Miss: Get My Third Stimulus Payment
Bringing Inflation Under Control Is The Goal
Over the course of 2021, many economists and policymakers at the Federal Reserve felt that the higher-than-normal inflation would be temporary. However, as the level of inflation continued to rise to new heights by the end of the year the consensus shifted, and the central bank decided to be more hawkish.
In January the Fed announced that it would begin tapering its stimulus programs which have poured vast amounts of liquidity into the US economy. It has also helped the stock market reach ever greater heights.
Additionally, the central bankers will start increasing interest rates, expected to begin in March, which have been at near zero during the pandemic. The Fed will have a difficult balancing act to pace the fiscal tightening without entrenching inflation by moving too slow or causing a recession if it moves too fast.
Although another stimulus check could help people with the rising cost of living, the fear of driving inflation even higher by injecting even more money into the economy has silenced lawmakers calls to do so.
How To Keep Up To Date On All That Is Happening
We try to keep you in the loop on all of the breaking news when it comes to stimulus checks. Federal and state money being given to those deeply affected by the pandemic is something many want to know about. Another stimulus check could be in your future. You can check with your states government website. You can check with the U.S. Department of Treasury on COVID-19 Relief. Leading into 2022, there could still be money for you.
You May Like: If I Owe Taxes Will I Get A Stimulus Check
What If Dont Normally File A Tax Return
The IRS said this third round of stimulus will be based on tax year 2019 or 2020 information, or information obtained by the Social Security Administration and Veterans Affairs Administration. If you are a non-filer who also does not receive a SSA or VA benefit, then use the Non-filer Sign-up tool, described below.
The IRS recently launched a new Non-filer Sign-up tool on its website. Although this non-filer portal is labeled as for non-filers claiming advance payments of the child tax credit, it is also available for others, including single individuals and people experiencing homelessness. It will allow individuals to provide their information to the IRS so that they can receive any of the three Economic Impact Payments , also known as stimulus payments, that they may be missing. If an individual did not get the full amounts of the EIPs, they may use this tool if they:
- Are not required to file a 2020 tax return, didnt file a 2020 tax return, and dont plan to, and
- Want to claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit and get their third EIP.
The new Non-filer Sign-up tool is for people who did not file a tax return for 2019 or 2020, and who did not use the IRS Non-filers tool last year to register for Economic Impact Payments.
No Economic Recovery For Others
The pandemic has better illuminated the growing disparities across the broader economy. While many households have financially flourished during COVID, many others have fallen far behind where they were in early 2020. Much of the gap depends on whether wage earners could work remotely or had public-facing jobs that required them to be on-site.
Financial insecurity is still widespread, and the loss of a job and the loss of hours have been some of the main reasons. Ten percent of American adults reported a shortage of food in their household over the previous week, according to U.S. Census survey data from late June and early July. Approximately 16 percent of renters have fallen behind on their rent, including 21 percent of renters with children in their household. The federal eviction moratorium, set to expire on July 31, doesnt forgive rent that is owed, it pushes the debt into the future. But only a small fraction of the $46 billion Congress allocated for rental assistance from December to March has actually made it to tenants and landlords. So a wave of evictions may be coming soon. Millions are also struggling to pay their mortgage.
Recommended Reading: How To Get My Stimulus
A Direct Deposit Payment Could Already Be In Your Bank Account Paper Checks Will Follow Quickly
When are second stimulus checks coming? Now! The IRS has already started delivering second-round stimulus checks to millions of Americans who received a first-round payment earlier this year. In fact, initial direct deposit payments have already arrived for some people.
If you don’t receive a direct deposit soon, watch your mail for either a paper check or a debit card. The IRS started mailing paper checks on December 30. To speed up delivery, a limited number of people will receive their second stimulus payment by debit card. But the form of payment for your second stimulus check may be different than your first payment. Some people who received a paper check last time might receive a debit card this time, and some people who received a debit card last time could receive a paper check.
If you receive a debit card, don’t throw it out thinking it’s junk mail! The debit cards will be issued by MetaBank, and they will arrive in a white envelope that prominently displays the U.S. Treasury Department’s seal. The Visa name will be on the front of the card, and it will say “MetaBank” on the back. More information about these cards is available at EIPcard.com.