States Set Aside Funds To Help Residents
The United States has moved away from the federal government giving financial assistance to people and toward a more state-centric structure, which means that stimulus checks are now coming from states that have set aside funds to help their inhabitants.
Fears of the COVID-19 pandemic persist throughout much of the United States, especially with President Joe Biden claiming that millions of Americans have yet to be vaccinated, so this financial assistance will come as a great comfort to those whose jobs are still in jeopardy. Also, the Delta version hasnt helped matters.
Examine the states where stimulus checks are being produced or discussed, or where funds are already being distributed to people. These are the following states:
Alaska
- Alaska residents may be eligible for extra funds via the Federal State Extended Benefit program, which may result in an additional 13 to 20 weeks of payments. This, however, is only available to a select group of people, and it is contingent on how much of the pot of money has already been taken. Additionally, Alaskans are waiting for information on what will happen with the yearly oil wealth checks.
Arkansas
- The situation in Arkansas is still extremely fluid, with the Arkansas state government now engaged in a court fight with its own citizens over the termination of federal unemployment benefits worth $300 per week. Any discussion of a fourth check will most likely have to wait until that fight is settled.
California
Colorado
New York
Stimulus Checks Prevent Rise In Food Insecurity
The economic consequences of the pandemic and associated restrictions were catastrophic for the US economy in 2020. Millions of people lost their jobs almost overnight in spring of last year and the nation’s economic growth was the worst since World War II. With that backdrop, many would expect the number of housheolds experiencing food instability to increase but in reality it stayed almost unchanged.
On Wednesday the USDA released its annual Household Food Security report, which surveys around 35,000 households for Census Bureau data. The study found that food instability remained the same as 2019, and some have pointed to this as a sign that the stimulus checks had the desired effect.
How Much Money Will I Get
- Adults whose adjusted gross income is less than $75,000/year will get $1,400 for each adult, plus $1,400 for each dependent no matter how old they are. This applies to heads of households who make less than $112,500, as well.
- The IRS will use income information from your 2020 tax return if they received that return before sending your money. Otherwise they will use information from your 2019 tax return.
- If the IRS sends your payment based on a 2019 return and then your 2020 return says you qualify for more , they will send an additional payment to make up for the difference. To get the additional payment, you must file the 2020 tax return by 90 days from the filing deadline or September 1, 2021, whichever is earlier.
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Other Pandemic Relief Is Still Available
This new round of assistance is narrowly targeted. If you’re among the millions who are still struggling, and you’re not a farm, meat-packing or grocery worker, other pandemic programs that are still open could give you a financial lift.
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The expanded child tax credit is providing families with up to $3,600 per kid through a combination of advanced payments now and tax refunds next year. But there are only a few weeks left to sign up for the money, so parents will want to act fast.
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More than $46 billion in emergency rental assistance was made available by the last two stimulus bills. As of the end of August, only 11% of the allotted funds had been distributed.
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Another $10 billion was set aside to help homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages.
Crunch Time For Democrats
September is a crucial month for the Dems, and failure to pass either of their landmark bills could spell disaster for the party’s chances in the midterm elections next year.
More than a dozen House committees are rushing to finish drafting and marking up key sections of the massive package, so they can send them to the Budget Committee by the set by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Democrats are already facing fierce resistance from powerful business interests, particularly over proposed corporate tax hikes. Complicating their task, Democrats are operating with razor-thin majorities in both chambers, leaving virtually no room for defections.
If they’re eliminating fossils, and I’m finding out there’s a lot of language in places they’re eliminating fossils, which is very, very disturbing, because if you’re sticking your head in the sand, and saying that fossil has to be eliminated in America, and they want to get rid of it, and thinking that’s going to clean up the global climate, it won’t clean it up all. If anything, it would be worse.
Joe Manchin, Democrat Congressman told CNN in July
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Will Congress Extend The Child Tax Credit
The expanded Child Tax Credit has been praised as a landmark change to the US’ social care safety net and has already achieved promising early results. The first month of payments alone has been linked to a 25% drop in childhood poverty, which draws around 3.3 million children above the poverty line.
Democrats in Congress are eager to see it extended beyond it’s initial one-year duration. House Majority Whip, Rep. James Clyburn, gives his thoughts on the Child Tax Credit and will be eager to see his caucus vote for an extension.
On 13 July, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that will allow for the sending of the second round of direct payments. Those who received a check during the first round are not eligible for a second. However, taxpayers in the care of children who meet the income requirements will receive an additional $500 payment.
The California Franchise Tax Board , which is responsible for distributing the checks, has updated its website to provide support to those hoping to track their payment. The CFTB can be contacted through three main methods for any taxes or Golden State stimulus checks phone, mail or online chat.
Fraudsters Target Irs Stimulus Checks
The vast majority of the third round of stimulus checks was distributed to eligible Americans in the spring, but as the IRS continue to process outstanding tax returns more payments are being sent out. This process will continue for the remainder of 2021 and the IRS are reporting that scammers are increasingly targetting the stimulus check payments.
The number of reported scam attempts reached levels we havent seen in more than a decade, said Jim Lee, Chief of IRS Criminal Investigation. “More than ever, it is important for taxpayers to continue to protect their personal information and not fall victim to these scams.
“My Build Back Better agenda, which still needs to be voted on in the Congress, keeps in place for years to come. We shouldnt let taxes go up on working families. We shouldnt let child poverty continue to stain the conscience or drag down our economy. “And so, I say to my colleagues in Congress: This tax cut for working families is something we should extend, not end, next year.”
President Joe Biden
The American Rescue Plan introduced a complete overhaul of the Child Tax Credit, designed to provide additional support for families as they struggle through the economic fallout of the pandemic. The expanded programme is currently funded for just one year but there are hopes that it will be extended further.
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Why Is A Fourth Stimulus Check Unlikely
All of this voiced support keeps the possibility of another round of stimulus checks or recurring stimulus checks alive. It doesnt make them likely, however. And there are a number of reasons why.
Vaccinations are progressing steadily. Adults and those at least 16 years old are now eligible to be inoculated in all 50 states. Three different options are available to the public again since the pause has been lifted on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Actually putting needles in arms will take more time, even as supply catches up to demand. Americans have received over 237 million doses, with 43.3 percent of the population having received at least one dose and 30 percent completely vaccinated. Vaccination numbers continue to increase at a rate of well over two million doses per day.
With vaccinations rising, the economy is showing additional signs of recovery as well. State and local economies are reopening, as restrictions loosen. Hiring has picked up in some sectors. The average for new unemployment claims over four weeks continues to push downward. Consumer confidence continues to climb, reaching its highest level since the start of the pandemic. Consumers are also generally optimistic about business conditions and the job market.
Child Tax Credit Check
As a reminder, millions of Americans are also getting the final child tax credit stimulus payment this month.
Be aware, also, that the IRS will send out a letter in early 2022 to those same recipients. It will contain important details about the checks you got this year. And youll use it to prepare your next federal income tax return.
On a related note, youll also get a companion benefit to the six checks when you prepare your federal return. At that point, youll be able to claim the second half of the child tax credit.
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When Will I Get My Check
Payments have been sent according to the last three digits of the ZIP code on your 2020 tax return.
Some payments may need extra time to process for accuracy and completeness.
If your tax return is processed during or after the date of your scheduled ZIP code payment, allow up to 60 days after your return has been processed.
Here are the remaining zip codes in which checks have yet to be mailed:
- ending in 720-927: December 13, 2021 through December 31, 2021
- ending in 928-999: December 27, 2021 through January 11, 2022
Most direct deposit stimulus payments were issued between September 1, 2021 and October 31, 2021.
If you filed your tax return after September 1, 2021, allow up to 45 days after your return has been processed.
Support For A Fourth Stimulus Check
A group of Democratic Senators, including Ron Wyden of Oregon, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, sent a letter to President Joe Biden at the end of March requesting recurring direct payments and automatic unemployment insurance extensions tied to economic conditions.
As the Senators reasoned in their letter, this crisis is far from over, and families deserve certainty that they can put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. Families should not be at the mercy of constantly-shifting legislative timelines and ad hoc solutions.
An earlier letter to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris from 53 Representatives, led by Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, carved out a similar position. Recurring direct payments until the economy recovers will help ensure that people can meet their basic needs, provide racially equitable solutions, and shorten the length of the recession.
Additional co-signers included New Yorks Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Michigans Rashida Tlaib, two other notable names among House Progressives. The letter didnt place a number on the requested stimulus payments. But a tweet soon after put it at $2,000 per month for the length of the pandemic.
$2,000 monthly payments until the pandemic is over.
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Is There A Fourth Stimulus Check
Per AS, a fourth stimulus check is one item that hasn’t been cut yet. A fourth stimulus check is one measure that is noticeably lacking from the reconciliation package. While Sanders and other senators have been tight-lipped about why money was not set aside for a direct payment, the proposal contains some evidence.
Some of the reconciliation bill’s provisions would deliver the money directly to American homes. The package includes money to make the Child Tax Credit adjustments permanent.
The law also establishes a paid government family leave program and ensures that families pay no more than 7% of their income for childcare. However, some economists are concerned that the elimination of government safeguards and programs such as unemployment benefits and the eviction moratorium, along with a fresh wave of COVID-19 cases, would hinder the recovery.
More than nine million individuals applied for unemployment benefits in the weeks leading up to the termination of the programs, and Goldman Sachs believes that over 700,000 families might be evicted this year.
As the IRS nears the end of the third phase, a push for the fourth stimulus check payment may be evident. In the third round of the stimulus check, payments totaling 169 million were made. In July, over 2 million people got $1400 stimulus checks in their bank accounts as a result of this, according to Digital Market News.
Is A Fourth Stimulus Check Arriving In 2022
FILE – This May 8, 2008, file photo shows blank checks on an idle press at the Philadelphia Regional Financial Center, which disburses payments on behalf of federal agencies in Philadelphia. AP
As of right now, there are no plans for a fourth stimulus check in 2022. That doesnt mean efforts for additional financial assistance amid the coronavirus pandemic are done.
A petition for U.S. adults and $1,000 for children has been signed by 2.97 million people. If it reaches 3 million signatures, the petition will become one of Change.orgs most-signed petitions.
And while that petition has garnered millions of signatures and widespread attention, it appears unlikely it will move Congress to act. Instead, efforts are underway to extend the expanded Child Tax Credit, a measure passed during Marchs American Rescue Plan. The child tax pays parents up to $300 a month for children ages 5 and younger and $250 per child age 6-17. The remainder of the money up to $1,800 can be claimed when filing 2021 taxes in 2022.
The payments started in July and are set to end in December unless extended by Congress.
The $2.2 trillion Build Back Better bill, passed by the House on Nov. 19 and currently before the U. S. Senate would extend the monthly payments through 2022, short of President Joe Bidens proposal to stretch them into 2025.
That measure faces an uphill battle.
Who will receive stimulus funds in 2022?
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Fourth Stimulus Check Possible Timeline
Right now, there is no fourth stimulus check timeline or fourth stimulus check release date. Until legislation is in motion, we can’t say how soon more relief money might arrive. We can’t say whether more relief money is coming, at all.
That said, the third stimulus check timeline happened rather quickly following Biden’s inauguration Jan. 20. It only took a few weeks for Congress to debate his American Rescue Plan. Once the president signed the bill on March 11, $1,400 checks were put in motion.
The IRS can begin sending out possible fourth stimulus checks in the same manner it sent the previous stimulus payments. Since the framework is already in place, Americans could begin receiving the fourth stimulus checks about two weeks after a relief bill allowing another round of direct payments is approved.
The Irs Is Still Sending Out 2021 Stimulus Checks
Although the IRS began sending out checks months ago, there are still many more direct deposits going out and payments being mailed.
In fact, as recently as July 21, 2021, the IRS announced it had distributed another $2.2 million in stimulus payments . This money went to people who hadn’t gotten any payments before, as well as to people owed “plus-up” payments. Plus-up payments are additional stimulus checks for people who had received less than the full amount due in their first payment.
The IRS is still distributing payments into people’s bank accounts because it is working through a backlog of 2020 tax returns.
The agency uses tax return data to determine who is entitled to a payment and what amount each person or family is owed. If a taxpayer has a new dependent they informed the IRS about on their 2020 return or if their income fell compared with the prior tax year, this could potentially entitle them to a plus-up payment. On the other hand, if someone filed taxes for the first time recently, their 2020 return may have been the first one to offer the IRS the information it needed to issue any payment at all.
The IRS has indicated the COVID-19 pandemic has caused delays in processing 2020 returns. So until the agency has worked through the entire backlog, stimulus checks will continue to be issued when tax returns reveal they are owed.
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Florida: $1000 For Teachers
Governor Ron DeSantis earlier this year approved $1,000 bonuses for the state’s more than 170,000 teachers and principals in its K-12 public schools and public charter schools. The funding stems from $216 million in federal stimulus money, according to CBS Miami.
The checks started landing in mailboxes earlier this month, the Florida Education Association said. DeSantis said the checks are “a token of the appreciation” for teachers who worked during the pandemic.
DeSantis is issuing the checks amid controversy his handling of the pandemic, including Florida’s ban on mask requirements in schools. Despite his stance, just over half of Florida’s 2.8 million public school students now face mandates to wear masks in classrooms.
While many teachers may appreciate the checks, the Florida Education Association has condemned DeSantis’ bonuses, saying the program takes control away from local schools and that school districts would have delivered the money faster to teachers.