What’s Going On With The Stimulus

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.

Who Is Eligible For The Second Stimulus Check

Eligibility is primarily based on four requirements:

1. Income: The income requirements to receive the full payment are the same as the first stimulus check.There is no minimum income needed to qualify for the payment. Households with adjusted gross income up to $75,000 for individuals will receive the full payment. This stimulus payment starts to phaseout for people with higher earnings. The second stimulus check maximum income limit is lower than the first stimulus check. Single filers who earned more than $87,000 in 2019 are ineligible for the second stimulus check.

View the chart below to compare income requirements for the first and second stimulus checks.

2. Social Security Number: This requirement differs from the original eligibility for the first stimulus check. Originally under the first stimulus check, if you were married filing jointly, both spouses needed valid Social Security numbers . If one spouse had an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number , then both spouses were ineligible for the stimulus check. For married military couples, the spouse with an SSN could still get the stimulus check for themselves but not the other spouse with an ITIN.

Examples

Former first stimulus check rules:

Second stimulus check rules:

Former first and second stimulus check rules for military filers:

Direct Payments Reach People Who Need Immediate Aid

Direct payments, in particular, help those who do not qualify for unemployment insurance but have had their hours reduced or left their job to care for family members during the pandemic, economists have said.

Direct payments have helped alleviate poverty in the U.S., and a fourth stimulus check alone would lift 6.6 million people out poverty in 2021, according to a recent report from Elaine Maag and Kevin Werner at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

“Housing instability and food insecurity remain concerns for many, and an additional payment could help with both,” Maag writes to CNBC Make It in an email, noting that Black and Hispanic families with children feel the pain more acutely than other households. “Studies on how other economic impact payments were spent indicate people spent the money on necessities like food, housing and bills.”

That said, with the vaccine rollout chugging along and more states lifting coronavirus restrictions, it is not clear if the progressive lawmakers will be able to sell the idea to their more moderate or conservative colleagues.

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Update On A Fourth Stimulus Check

Millions have been clamoring for recurring stimulus payments, and some lawmakers have expressed support for more relief aid through the pandemic. But President Joe Biden hasn’t pledged support to a fourth check, focusing instead on his proposed family and jobs packages and the recent infrastructure deal.

In a press conference on June 3, White House press secretary Jen Psaki played down the possibility of a fourth check, asserting that the administration has already put forward an economic recovery plan. Through the debate in Washington over additional economic impact payments continues, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that there will be any more direct payments this year.

Stimulus Check Update: $2000 Stimulus Checks Are Going Out

In addition to the $3200 paid out by the IRS since the beginning of the pandemic $1200 in March 2020, $600 in December 2020, and $1400 in March 2021 members of the Cherokee Nation are receiving an additional $2000 stimulus payment.

In addition to the $3200 paid out by the IRS since the beginning of the pandemic $1200 in March 2020, $600 in December 2020, and $1400 in March 2021 members of the Cherokee Nation are receiving an additional $2000 stimulus payment. The payment is slated to be split in two, with one thousand dollars paid this year and the other half paid twelve months from now.

As part of President Joe Bidens American Rescue Plan Act in March 2021, historic investments were made in Native American tribal governments to the tune of $20 billion. The Cherokee Nation, after the Navajo the second-largest Native American nation in the United States, received $1.8 billion in federal COVID-19 recovery funding. Few strings were attached to the funding it was decided that it could be spent however Cherokee leaders decided it would be of the most use.

While the $2000 payments are available for all Cherokees, it seems that registration might be required to receive one. The Cherokee Nation has opened its online Gadugi Portal, a centralized database intended to help Cherokees navigate the request process and apply for direct assistance.

Trevor Filseth is a news reporter and writer for the National Interest.

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Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility And Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility

On March 23, 2020, the Fed created the Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility to buy corporate bonds to ensure corporations can get credit. At the same time, it created the related Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility , which bought up corporate bonds and bond exchange-traded funds on the secondary market.

The SMCCF started purchasing bond ETFs on May 12, 2020, and said it would begin purchasing individual bonds to create a broad, diversified market index of individual U.S. corporate bonds starting on June 16, 2020.

The combined purchase limit for the programs was $750 billion, up from an initial $200 billion. The Treasury Department contributed a total of $75 billion in initial capital to these two programs from the ESF: $50 billion for the PMCCF and $25 billion for the SMCCF.

The premise was that this program made banks more willing to lend to corporations because they knew they could sell the loans to the Fed. Both programs stopped purchasing bonds on Dec. 31, 2020, and will continue to be funded until their holdings are sold or mature.

Bigger Government Subsidies For Health Insurance

The latest relief package would make some of the most consequential changes to the Affordable Care Act in a decade. It would inject billions of dollars into the health-insurance marketplaces so that customers would pay less in premiums when they sign up for health plans.

People who are on unemployment insurance would benefit significantly because the government would pay the full cost of their health-insurance premiums.

The changes would apply to people who buy insurance on their own and not the majority of people, who get health insurance through a government program like Medicare or their jobs.

The bill includes numerous other provisions for medical coverage.

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A Push For More Stimulus

To help those on Social Security get through, TSCL is not only calling on Washington for help, but they’re asking the public to add their names to a public petition. The petition reads:

“I want Social Security recipients to receive a $1,400 emergency stimulus check to cope during this unprecedented inflationary year. Social Security benefits are one of the few types of income in retirement adjusted for inflation. But soaring inflation has taken a toll on household finances of retired and disabled Social Security recipients. In 2021, Social Security benefits increased by just 1.3%, raising the average benefit by only about $20 a month. But about 86% of Social Security recipients surveyed say their expenses increased by much more than that amount.

As one of the many supporters of TSCL who reside in your constituency, I strongly urge you that now is the time that you must support an emergency $1,400 stimulus check to Social Security recipients.”

Given the fight currently raging over President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan and what’s going to happen to the debt ceiling, no one expects Congress to approve a fourth round of stimulus checks for senior citizens this year. Still, the hope is that as public sentiment grows, Congress will take notice and address the issue next year.

How Do I Get Help Filing A Tax Return To Claim My Eip

• The IRS recommends electronic filing, and we agree. It is a faster, more secure option. Paper forms will take much longer to be processed by IRS. You may qualify for free e-file software.
• You can also call the Vermont 2-1-1 hotline and follow the menu options for tax preparation. Through this service you may be able to schedule an appointment with a free Volunteer Income Tax Preparation Assistance site. These sites are staffed by trained volunteers. They provide free preparation services to taxpayers who meet eligibility requirements.
• Also, you can find Form 1040 and Form 1040 instructions on the IRS website.

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The Child Tax Credit Would Become More Generous Among Other Benefits

For 2021, the bill would temporarily expand the child tax credit, which is currently worth up to $2,000 per child under 17.Under the legislation, the tax credit would be as much as $3,600 for children up to age 5and as much as $3,000 for children 6 to 17.

The bill would make the full value of the credit available to low-income people who are currently ineligible or receive only a portion. And for the second half of this year, it would have the federal government send advance payments of the credit to Americans in periodic installments, akin to a guaranteed income for families with children.

The legislation would also expand the child and dependent care tax credit for 2021, and it would expand the earned-income tax credit for workers without children for this year as well. Through 2025, it would exempt student loan forgiveness from income taxes.

When The Stimulus Checks Will Stop Being Issued

Most of the third stimulus check payments have gone out from the IRS and US Department of the Treasury, based on the information the IRS has on hand to determine payment amounts. The , however, gives these federal agencies until Dec. 31, 2021, to send out all the third checks. That gives the IRS room to process 2020 tax returns and square up payments for those who are owed plus-up amounts, folks who filed for a 2020 tax extension and other groups, like people who moved or don’t have a fixed address .

Millions could end up receiving a smaller stimulus check than they’re owed.

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Stimulus Check Update: Here’s Who May Be Getting Another $1400 Check

by Dana George | Published on Oct. 18, 2021

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.

If one group has its way, there will be at least one more round of stimulus checks.

Senior citizens are among the most economically vulnerable in the country. A letter sent by The Senior Citizens League Chairman Rick Delaney to Congressional leaders illustrates the situation faced by some seniors. The letter reads in part:

“We’ve heard from thousands of them who have exhausted their retirement savings, who have started eating just one meal a day, stated cutting their pills in half because they can’t afford their prescription drugs, to list just a few of the drastic steps so many have had to take because of what inflation has done to them this year.”

“Many have written to us that ‘our government has forgotten about us.'”

Delaney’s group is proposing another $1,400 stimulus check for senior citizens. While Social Security checks are due to go up 5.9% in 2022, representing the largest cost-of-living adjustment in 39 years, inflation threatens to swallow the bulk of the increase.

$350 Billion For States And Local Governments

States and cities would get $350 billion under the stimulus package the House is working on, with 60% of the amount going to states and the rest going to localities. Many states had revenue declines and spent more than in previous years to help control the virus. State and local officials have said that they’ll have to lay off workers if they don’t get help from the federal government.

The final stimulus figure for states may end up being scaled back because some states have done far better financially than they expected. California, for example, is planning to use excess funding to create its own state stimulus program that would supplement the Biden plan.

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What Was The Timeline For The Third Stimulus Check

Once the bill moved through all the hoops, eligible people started seeing their stimulus payments before March was over.5 The IRS and U.S. Treasury have been quick with delivering past stimulus checksDecember 2020s payments reached most folks by direct deposit within a week of then President Donald Trump signing the legislation.6

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.

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$600 Stimulus Payments Are Going Out Now Through Jan 15

Since the $900 billion stimulus bill that includes the second stimulus check won’t be altered, the IRS and US Treasury will continue to deliver new payments through direct deposit, physical checks and EIP cards. Here’s how to calculate your estimated total. Importantly, the bill includes a Jan. 15 cutoff, after which no more payments will be sent. Instead, you’ll have to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit to claim your check.

Money Would Go To Fight The Pandemic And To Help States Local Governments And Schools

The bill would provide funding for vaccine distribution as well as coronavirus testing, contact tracing and genomic sequencing. It would give money to the Federal Emergency Management Agency as well.

It would provide $350 billion for states, local governments, territories and tribal governments, and it contains about $130 billion for schools. It also includes funding for colleges and universities, transit agencies, housing aid, child care providers and food assistance.

In addition, the bill contains funding to help businesses, including restaurants and live venues, and it includes a bailout for multiemployer pension plans that are financially troubled.

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Make The Child Tax Credit Permanent

Biden proposed giving $300 checks every month for people with children. This equates to up to a $3,600 cash allowance for children under age 6. Theres also up to a $3,000 cash allowance for children ages 6 to 17, which equates to a $250 check every month. This change, which is included in the last stimulus package, changes the prior child tax credit of up to $2,000 annually. However, the $300 checks every month are only temporary. Rather than provide monthly or recurring Economic Impact Payments, Congress could make the temporary child tax credit permanent. Biden supports extending these recurring checks, while other members of Congress want the child tax credit to become permanent.

How Do I Get It

• The stimulus payments will be processed by the IRS.
• If you have already filed a 2019 tax return, you will get the stimulus payment automatically. You will receive it in the same form as your tax refund. If you requested direct deposit, then the stimulus will be direct deposited. If you requested a paper check, then the stimulus will be mailed to the same address on your 2019 tax return.
• If you entered your information into the IRS non-filer portal earlier in 2020, you will get the stimulus payment automatically. You do not have to do anything.
• If you receive one of the following benefits, you will get the stimulus payment automatically. You do not have to do anything.
• Social Security

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