Who Qualifies For The Second Stimulus Check
The IRS has set AGI limits to determine taxpayer eligibility. The ranges for the second stimulus check are broken down as follows:
- Individuals with AGI of $75,000 or less qualify to get the full $600 second stimulus check. Individuals making more than $75,000 and up to $87,000 receive a reduced amount.
- Heads of household with AGI of $112,500 or less qualify for the full $600, and those making over $112,500 and up to $124,500 get a reduced amount.
Note that the second stimulus checks also provide an additional $600 payment for every qualifying dependent under the age of 17. So if you filed your taxes as a married couple with three children, you could get up to $3,000.
Currently, theres no limit on the number of dependents that you can claim as long as they are within the age requirement and you claimed them on your tax return. But keep in mind that if you claimed your child as a dependent and they are over age 17, you are not eligible to receive $600 extra on your stimulus check. Your child does not qualify for a stimulus check of their own either.
The table below breaks down payments by AGI level for single and joint filers:
| Second Stimulus Checks for Single and Joint Filers |
| Single AGI |
White House Pressed Raffensperger To Take Trump Call
Georgia’s Republican top election official has said that the White House had pushed him against his better judgment to take a call from President Donald Trump in which he pressured the state to overturn his November presidential election defeat there.
‘I never believed it was appropriate to speak to the president but he pushed out, I guess he had his staff push us. They wanted a call,‘ Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told ABC’s ‘Good Morning America.’
A state Democrat has called for a probe into whether Trump had violated Georgia election law on the call. Raffensperger and his office’s general counsel rejected Trump’s assertions of electoral fraud in the hour-long conversation.
‘We took the call, and we had a conversation. He did most of the talking, we did most of the listening,’Raffensperger said.
‘But I do want to make my points that the data that he has is just plain wrong. He had hundreds and hundreds of people he said that were dead that voted. We found two. That’s an example of just his bad data.’
Stimulus Check For Deceased: How To Return It
In several instances, the IRS has sent stimulus checks to people who are deceased. This week, the agency amended its FAQ page to direct taxpayers about what to do if you’ve received a payment for someone who has passed.
According the IRS, a check sent to a deceased person must be returned or repaid to the IRS, even if that person has died recently. Here is how to repay the stimulus check, even if you’ve already cashed it or you received it via direct deposit.
As for joint taxpayers, this is the IRS’s guidance: “Return the entire Payment unless the Payment was made to joint filers and one spouse had not died before receipt of the Payment, in which case, you only need to return the portion of the Payment made on account of the decedent. This amount will be $1,200 unless adjusted gross income exceeded $150,000.”
Also Check: When Are We Getting Second Stimulus Check
What If My Unemployment Agency Says Ive Been Paid Too Much
Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have been overpaid by the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, in large part because of administrative errors that occurred while trying to quickly push benefits out using a new program. Federal guidance changed three times, experts said, and mistakes were inevitable. Some people were overpaid thousands maybe even tens of thousands of dollars.
The problem now: Even when the state is at fault for overpayment, the recipient is still generally responsible. And states often collect whats owed by automatically withholding a portion of a persons benefit.
The latest legislation will fix that by giving states the discretion to waive the overpayments when honest mistakes were made that could be painful for the claimant to repay, Ms. Evermore said.
Where Is My Second Stimulus Check And When Will I Get It
Due to an IRS error, some TaxSlayer customers have not received their second stimulus payment as expected. We are working with the IRS and our industry partners to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and will continue to update this article as more information becomes available. The most recent IRS guidance was provided on January 10, 2020. Here is what we know so far:
Don’t Miss: Didn’t Get Full Stimulus Check
Stimulus Check Status: How To Use The Irs Tracking Portal To Find Your Check
Every week the IRS sends out batches of checks to those who are eligible. But that doesnt everyone who is eligible has received theirs yet. According to The Washington Post, some checks may not arrive until September.
You can check the status of your stimulus check using a neat tool the IRS developed. When you fill out a short form on the IRS Get My Payment app, you should be able to view the status of your stimulus check if you’re due to get one.
Heres how it works: Go to the IRS Get My Payment app website . Click ‘Get My Payment’ to enter the portal. Click ‘OK’ on the authorized use page after you’ve reviewed the terms. Fill out your Social Security number or Individual Tax ID , your date of birth , your street address and your ZIP code. Click ‘Continue.’
Third Round Of Economic Impact Payments Continues
Each week we’re sending the third round of Economic Impact Payments and the related 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit to eligible individuals as people continue to file income tax returns and returns are processed. If you haven’t received a payment yet, it doesn’t mean you won’t.
Ongoing payments will be sent to eligible individuals for whom the IRS previously did not have information to issue a payment but who recently filed a tax return, as well to people who qualify for “plus-up” payments. Get more information in the Questions and Answers about the Third Economic Impact Payment.
Check when and how your payment was sent with the Get My Payment tool.
Recommended Reading: When To Expect 1400 Stimulus Check
Stimulus Check Move Questioned
Back to stimulus check news, and despite enjoying widespread public support and being included in the recent economic relief package signed into law by President Donald Trump, not everyone is convinced.
A former top Obama administration economist believes that they are not the best use of taxpayer dollars.
The first round of stimulus checks sent last year didnt do all that much, were not necessarily fair and didnt help the sectors that were hurting the most, said Christina Romer, a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. She served as chair of then-President Barack Obamas Council of Economic Advisers and helped design the governments response to the 2008 financial crisis.
Stimulus Check Payments Begin: Make Sure Your Irs Details Are Correct
The IRS has confirmed that the $600 stimulus checks are already being made but some are yet to receive the first round of payments. Make sure you don’t miss out on the cash.
Full details:
Hes obsessed with the fact that he loses his immunity on January 20th…
– George Conway on that Georgia call and the claims in general.
Also Check: Update On The Stimulus Package
Amount And Status Of Your Payment
To find the amount of the third payment, create or view your online account or refer to IRS Notice 1444-C, which we mailed after sending the payment.
If you are sent a plus-up Economic Impact Payment after your 2020 tax return is processed:
- The amount of your initial third payment will no longer show in your online account. You will only see the amount of your plus-up payment.
- The status of your initial third payment will no longer show in Get My Payment. You will only see the status of your plus-up payment.
I Havent Received My Payment Why Is It Taking So Long To Process
Rest assured, if you are eligible to receive a second stimulus, you will receive your money. Most individuals do not need to do anything to get it. Contacting your financial institution or tax preparation service will not help you to receive the payment faster. Neither of those organizations have control over the payment or any insight into when it will reach you.
Unfortunately, TaxAct cannot see when you will receive your payment or know why it is delayed. The appropriate bank account information used to file your 2019 tax return was shared with the IRS when your return was filed. That is the information they have to process your stimulus payment and send the money to you.
The IRS stated some payments were sent to a bank account that is no longer active. We are working with the IRS to resolve that issue in an effort to help our customers impacted by that mistake get their stimulus money as quickly as possible.
Don’t Miss: When Should Stimulus Check Arrive
Will There Be A Third Stimulus Package
Throughout 2020, the Democratic party pushed for bigger stimulus checks. At the end of the year, democrats, encouraged by Trump, pushed for $2,000 stimulus checks instead of $600 ones. It was not approved by the Republican Senate. Now, with a Democratic President and Democratic majority in the House and Senate starting mid-January, Americans may see a third stimulus check come to fruition. The hope for a third stimulus check was made even stronger as President-Elect Joe Biden promised that $2,000 stimulus checks would be sent out or, go out the door, immediately if Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock won the January 6 Senate Races in Georgia, which they did.
Efforts To Increase Second
Efforts to send eligible Americans a $2,000 second stimulus check are effectively deadfor now. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to allow a vote in the Senate on the House-passed CASH Act. That bill would have increased the second-round stimulus checks approved by the COVID-Related Tax Relief Act from $600 to $2,000. Senate Democrats made repeated requests this week for a vote, but each request was immediately blocked by McConnell or another Republican senator.
Democrats delayed the inevitable for a few days by holding up a separate vote to override President Trump’s veto of the defense spending bill. However, on New Year’s Day, the override vote was held, which meant that the Democrats lost whatever leverage they had to force a vote on the CASH Act. The current session of Congress ends at noon on Sunday. At that point, the CASH Act and all other pending bills will expire.
The IRS has already started sending out the $600 second stimulus checks authorized by the recently enacted COVID relief law. If a deal to increase payments to $2,000 had been reached, the tax agency said it would have sent another payment for the additional amount to anyone who already received a $600 check. That, however, won’t be necessary now absent some unexpected change of circumstances before Sunday.
Read Also: How To Find Out About My Stimulus Check
Second Stimulus Checks Updates : How Can I Check The Status Of My Payment
You can check the status of your second stimulus check on the IRS’s website. Dreamstime/TNS
At long last, the federal government has begun sending out $600 stimulus checks to people.
In fact, the Internal Revenue Service began directly depositing the relief money into peoples accounts starting Dec. 29 and mailing paper checks reflecting that amount the next day.
Naturally, this update begs the following questionwhen will you get your own second stimulus check?
In order to help answer that query, the IRS launched a tool on its website that allows for individuals to track the status of their payments. Aptly titled Get My Payment, the IRS page additionally explains whether or not one may be eligible for the stimulus check at all.
The IRS emphasizes that there is no action required by eligible individuals to receive this second payment, states the agency in a press release. Some Americans may see the direct deposit payments as pending or as provisional payments in their accounts before the official payment date of Jan. 4, 2021. The IRS reminds taxpayers that the payments are automatic, and they should not contact their financial institutions or the IRS with payment timing questions.
One should note that the Get My Payment tool may occasionally crash due to the influx of traffic.
The Important Details You Want To Know
- The second round of stimulus payments are based on the information reported on your 2019 tax return.
- Currently, the second stimulus payout is as follows for those eligible:
- $600 per individual
- $1,200 per couple
- $600 per child under the age of 17
*Another COVID-19 relief bill with additional stimulus money is being discussed by Congress but has yet to be passed. Continue to check back here for the most up-to-date information.
- Income qualifications for receiving the second payment are similar to the first round. You will receive the full amount if you are:
- An individual earning less than $75,000 per year
- A couple earning less than $150,000 per year as a couple
If your Adjusted Gross Income is more than those amounts, your stimulus payment will be reduced by $5 for each $100 over the limit. It completely phases out if:
- You earn more than $99,000 as a single taxpayer
- You earn more than $136,500 as Head of Household
- You earn more than $198,000 as joint filers with no kids
ProTip: Your AGI includes income like wages, salaries, or interest minus adjustments for specific deductions like student loan interest or retirement contributions. Check line 8b of your 2019 Form 1040 to locate your AGI.
Recommended Reading: How Do I Get The $600 Stimulus Check
Alert: Highest Cash Back Card We’ve Seen Now Has 0% Intro Apr Until 2023
If you’re using the wrong credit or debit card, it could be costing you serious money. Our expert loves this top pick, which features a 0% intro APR until 2023, an insane cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee.
In fact, this card is so good that our expert even uses it personally. for free and apply in just 2 minutes.
What If I Owe Child Support Payments Back Taxes Money To Creditors Or Debt Collectors Or Federal Or State Debt
Both the first and second stimulus check cannot be reduced to pay any federal or state debts. Unlike the first stimulus check, your second stimulus check cannot be reduced if you owe past-due child support payments and is protected from garnishment by creditors and debt collectors.
If you use direct deposit and owe your bank overdraft fees, the bank may deduct these from your payment.
If you are claiming the payments as part of your 2020 tax refund , the payments are no longer protected from past-due child support payments, creditor and debt collectors, and other federal or state debt that you owe . In other words, if you receive your first and second stimulus checks as part of your tax refund instead of direct checks, it may be reduced.
Recommended Reading: How Much Money Will I Get From The Stimulus
The Bottom Line On The Second Stimulus Check
After months of drama, the second stimulus package was signed at the end of December and second stimulus checks were sent out immediately. For single filers and heads of household, checks are up to $600 and for married couples filing jointly, checks are up to $1,200. Singles, heads of household and married couples with children also receive $600 per child under 17.
You must meet the eligibility requirements to receive a second stimulus check. If you have not received your check, track its status with the Get My Payment tool on the IRS website.
For more tips and information on managing your finances, saving money and paying, check out more personal finance articles on Rocket HQSM.
How Does The Stimulus Payment Impact My Tax Return Again
The stimulus payment is an advance on a tax credit for your 2020 federal tax return. Since 2020 returns are not yet filed, the IRS uses your 2019 return to determine how much money you qualify to receive.
You may get additional money once you file your 2020 return if your situation is different than what was reported on your 2019 return.
For an additional explanation on how the stimulus payments work, check out the blog post Everything You Need to Know About the First Stimulus Payments.
Don’t Miss: Social Security Stimulus Checks Date
Didn’t Get The Full Third Payment Claim The 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit
You may be eligible to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2021 federal tax return if you didn’t get a third Economic Impact Payment or got less than the full amount.
In early 2022, we’ll send Letter 6475 to the address we have on file for you confirming the total amount of your third Economic Impact Payment and any plus-up payments you received for tax year 2021. You will need this information to accurately calculate your 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit when you file your 2021 federal tax return in 2022.