The Senate has passed a $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus control bill, paving the way for millions of Americans to potentially receive $ 1,400 incentive checks.
But the new checks won’t be official until the House of Representatives and President Joe Biden give their final approval, which is expected to happen this week.
The proposed new direct payments are designed to bring the total money recently sent to Americans to $ 2,000, in line with an amount Biden has promised Americans.
“This plan ensures that, starting this month, checks will be sent to the Americans who are so in need of the aid,” Biden said on Saturday in response to the Senate action.
Here’s the last thing we know about those payments.
Who is eligible for $ 1,400 checks
Full payments of $ 1,400 are scheduled for those with adjusted gross income of up to $ 75,000 for individuals, $ 112,500 for heads of household, and $ 150,000 for married couples filing jointly.
As with previous incentive checks, payments are reduced for those with incomes above those thresholds.
This time, however, the Senate has called for income levels at which benefits are to be phased lowered to zero.
Under those terms, payments are limited to individuals earning $ 80,000 in income, heads of household with $ 120,000, and married couples with $ 160,000.
Estimates indicate that change could result in up to 12 million adults less receiving incentive money.
Another notable change is that dependents of all ages are eligible for the payments. Previous checks only related to persons under 17 years of age.
How fast could the $ 1,400 payments go out
Stimulus Checks Printed at the Philadelphia Financial Center in Philadelphia.
Jeff Fusco | Getty Images
Biden said this week that stimulus checks should go to millions of Americans this month.
That is in line with the expectations of experts.
The ones who will be first in line to get the money are the ones who have already registered their direct deposit bank account information with the IRS.
Those people could receive their money within two weeks of the legislation being finalized.
Other debit cards and paper checks sent by mail were likely to arrive later, possibly in April and May.
What to do if you are still waiting for previous checks
Many readers have written because they are still waiting for the $ 600 incentive checks authorized in December and, in some cases, never received the first $ 1,200 payments sent last spring.
The good news is that the money is still available, in the form of a tax credit. But you must file a tax return to claim it. This also applies if you usually do not submit a file, because you have little or no income.
People with adjusted gross income of $ 72,000 or less can use the IRS Free File, which allows you to file your federal income tax return online for free.
If your income is more than $ 72,000, the IRS has free fillable forms available.
If you don’t have taxable income but want to apply to claim your stimulus check money through the chargeback rebate credit, the IRS recommends visiting its web page for free information and resources.