Who Gets A Stimulus Check?

A stimulus cheque, often referred to as an economic impact payment, is a form of financial assistance that the government offers to qualified people or families in hard circumstances. These disbursements are frequently included in larger economic stimulus plans that put money in the hands of consumers in an effort to stimulate the economy.

A major focus during the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak was stimulus checks. For instance, the government of the United States sent stimulus cheques on many occasions to assist people and families in overcoming the financial difficulties brought on by the epidemic.

Who gets a stimulus check?

Eligible Americans with Social Security numbers might apply for the COVID-19 stimulus cheques. The qualifying requirements, however, differed according to the checks.

Those who identified themselves as dependents on a tax return were not entitled for their own check for the first two payments. On the other hand, those who claimed dependents under the age of 17 may get paid for them. The third cheque expanded the definition of dependents, allowing households to receive funds for dependent children over the age of 17 as well as adult dependents.

Additionally, there are income restrictions. All three cheques totaling less than $75,000 are fully available to single taxpayers. Married joint filers with an income under $150,000 and heads of household with an income under $112,500 are also qualified. But as we’ll go into more depth below, phase-out rules—the point at which high incomes are no longer eligible for checks—vary depending on the payment.

Stimulus Check Payment

The United States government implemented three stimulus cheque payments in 2020 and 2021 in response to the coronavirus pandemic; no more payments were made.

Stimulus Check Payment One

Authorised under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was the first wave of stimulus funds. The IRS has made 162 million payments in 2020, for a grand total of $271 billion. The first-round payments are expected to ultimately cost $292 billion, according to projections from the Congressional Budget Office.

The first payments were sent in early 2020 and included $500 for each eligible kid in addition to $1,200 for each individual or $2,400 for joint filers. The maximum income levels to receive a payment were also higher since the payments authorized under the CARES Act were bigger. The payments started to phase out at the same income levels as the present payments:

• $99,000 for taxpayers who are single
• $136,500 for taxpayers submitting household head counts
• $198,00 for jointly filed married couples

Stimulus Check Payment Two

With a few exceptions, the qualifying requirements for the second round of stimulus checks were generally the same as those for the first. The entire amount was available to those with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of up to $75,000 (or $150,000 for joint filers). On the other hand, the payment amounts were modified and the phase-out threshold was altered.

The highest amount that qualified recipients may receive was $600, plus a further $600 for each qualifying child under the age of 17. greater earners received smaller payment amounts, and those whose AGIs were greater than a certain level received nothing at all.

Similar distribution strategies were employed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as in the first round. The main method of payment was direct deposit; however, paper checks or prepaid debit cards were delivered to those who had not supplied their direct deposit information. Early in 2021, the second set of stimulus checks was sent out. The objective was to give families and people who were still struggling financially as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic further financial support.

Stimulus Check Payment Three

The American Rescue Plan Act, which went into effect in March 2021, gave the go-ahead for the third wave of stimulus cheques in the United States. Each qualified adult and eligible dependant (including adult dependents) received a third check for $1,400. The phase-out regulations, however, operated in a different way. Regardless of the number of dependents they had, those whose income exceeded $80,000 for single filers, $120,000 for head of household filers, and $160,000 for married joint filers did not get any payment at all.

The third check’s direct deposits started throughout the weekend of March 13. In the next weeks, the IRS started to issue out actual checks and Economic Impact Payment cards (EIP cards). It declared on January 26, 2022, that all of the Economic Impact Payments for the third round had been distributed.

Like with earlier incarnations of the payments, direct deposit will be used by the majority of taxpayers to obtain the monies. This third payment will be issued to Social Security and other recipients in the same manner as their prior debit card payments. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that until 2030, these payments would come with a $411 billion price tag.

Potential Future Stimulus Checks:

The government’s legislative goals, the state of the economy, and the state of public health will all play a role in the decision to approve more rounds of stimulus cheques. Legislative authorities usually have the last say on whether to approve relief and stimulus programs.

For the most up-to-date and accurate information, I advise consulting official government sources, such as the website of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or other pertinent government agencies, if a fourth round of stimulus checks has been planned or put into effect after my previous update.

Stimulus Payment Trace

Taxpayers are able to request that the IRS look for a lost, stolen, or missing payment. The IRS will ascertain if the cheque was cashed after you begin the payment tracing. The IRS will revoke the payment and send out a new cheque if it hasn’t. In an effort to retrieve funds made via direct deposit, the IRS will get in touch with the bank. Banks can reply to the IRS’s request within ninety days after the first payment trace.

You must wait for the following timeframes to elapse before starting a payment trace:

• After five days from the scheduled deposit date
• The check was mailed to your postal address four weeks ago.
• The check was dispatched to a forwarding address six weeks ago.
• Since the check was sent to a foreign address, nine weeks had passed.

You can request that a check be canceled and reissued right away if you lose one. This process is known as payment tracing.