The $1.9 trillion relief package passed by the House of Representatives is a step in the right direction for a third stimulus check. When signed into law, qualifying parents and their dependents of any age will be eligible for a $1,400 check each, including those aged 17 to 24 who missed the first two payments. If all stays the same, the new stimulus check may be delivered as early as the end of March.
Are You Old Enough to Receive Stimulus Check?
Compared to the previous two bills, this one changes the concept of a qualifying dependent, allowing citizens of all ages eligible for a check. But, whether you're between the ages of 27 and 24 or an older adult who is someone else's dependent, how does this affect you? Is it possible for you to get your own $1,400 check, or will it be applied to your family's total? Is it possible that you'll be disregarded? While all dependents will be eligible for a reward, you are unlikely to receive it in the form of a check.
CNET clarifies what it means for you, if you're a student, living on your own and working, in the military, receiving SSI or SSDI, married or a spouse, or in a child-support situation. We can also discuss how certain young adults will receive the initial stimulus payment of up to $1,200, as well as the second stimulus payment of up to $600, now that tax season has arrived.
Am I counted as an adult or as a dependent?
The first stimulus payment made under the March CARES Act provided up to $1,200 to eligible American adults and $500 to their dependents listed on their 2019 tax returns, as long as they were 16 or younger. The IRS finished sending out the second stimulus check on January 15 under the December $900 billion package, which distributed up to $600 per eligible American adult and $600 for dependents listed on their 2019 tax returns that were 16 or younger at the time. Although the amount of money in the first check was different from the second, the criteria for counting as a child dependent were the same.
To be eligible for a second stimulus check, you must have filed your 2019 taxes on your own, which means no one has claimed you as a dependent on their taxes. To claim the full amount, you have to had an adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $75,000. The amount falls as the AGI rises, and this year, if you make more than $87,000 as a single taxpayer, you won't get a refund. According to Janet Holtzblatt, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, there are two sets of guidelines for qualifying as an adult or a minor under existing tax law.
Read also: Claim Your Stimulus Money by Getting IRS Letter First, Here's How To Do It
The support test is one of them. If you're single, don't have children, and your parents provide financial assistance equal to or greater than half of your annual salary, and you earned less than $4,200 in 2019, your parents will still claim you as a dependent. Another is the residency test: Whether you're a full-time student under the age of 24 and lives with an adult taxpayer for more than half of the year (unless you're on a college campus), you could declare yourself as a dependent, regardless of your income.
If a third stimulus check is passed, the IRS will most likely use your 2019 or 2020 tax return, whichever is more recent, to decide your eligibility. We suggest filing your taxes as soon as possible and setting up direct deposit with the IRS so that the IRS has the most up-to-date records on file - particularly if 2020 was your first year as a financially stable individual who was no longer considered a dependent.
Read also: Will a Fourth Stimulus Check Be Possible as the Third Nears Its Distribution To Eligible Americans?
How could the third stimulus check help you financially?
The possibility of a third stimulus check has inspired people's interest. However, the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill contains far more than a $1,400 stimulus check. The American Rescue Plan aims to alleviate the current pandemic's economic pain and suffering. It will do that by implementing services to help vulnerable households, cities, and small enterprises, as well as monitoring, tracing, and vaccines to halt the spread of COVID-19. Any of these actions can also result in you earning more money, as per CBS Local News.
What occurs in the Senate will determine how much money is spent. The House approved the stimulus bill on Saturday, mostly unchanged from Biden's proposal, along party lines. The bill will also be debated in the Senate, with the minimum wage plan already being ruled out of bounds due to the bill's reconciliation mechanism.
A third relief payment worth $422 billion out of the $1 trillion set aside to help families will be made. However, a small portion of the remaining $570 billion or so may end up in your wallet. Additional unemployment benefits, a more generous child tax credit, and other measures are proposed to help families.
On March 14, the new federal unemployment benefits payment of $300 will expire. The American Rescue Plan will increase it to $400 and extend it until the end of August. It will also support those who have depleted their benefits and freelancers who were not eligible for assistance prior to the pandemic but may have received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance since then.
Read also: Democrats Plan Another $2 Trillion in Stimulus Spending, Set Aside Increasing Federal Debt
