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A list of everyone who won’t get a coronavirus stimulus check

Updated Apr 6th, 2020 7:18PM EDT
Coronavirus stimulus checks
Image: Andrew Harnik/AP/Shutterstock

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  • One of the key elements of the first US coronavirus relief bill was sending $1,200 to every American.
  • Unfortunately, not every American qualifies for the payment, leaving them with no assistance whatsoever.
  • Americans affected include college-aged dependents, seniors living with family members, babies born in 2020, and anyone who made $98,000 or more last year, even if they’ve since been laid off.
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At this point, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn’t been affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The entire planet has screeched to a halt as countries attempt to mitigate the spread of a highly contagious and incredibly deadly virus, but doing so has, unsurprisingly, put the global economy in a tailspin.

The US took ages drafting and passing legislation to assist individuals and families that have been affected, but now that the Families First Coronavirus Response Act has been signed into law by President Trump, millions of Americans are anxiously awaiting the delivery of their coronavirus stimulus payment — $1,200 or more for most people — but as NBC News details in a very informative article, not everyone is going to get a check.

According to NBC News, these are the groups that don’t qualify for the coronavirus stimulus check:

  • 17-year-olds and college students: While parents will get a $500 check per child under the age of 17, most college-aged young adults are claimed by their parents as dependents and won’t be eligible.
  • Disabled people supported by family: If you get disability benefits from the Social Security Administration or Veterans Affairs, you’re eligible for a stimulus check, but not if you’re claimed as a dependent.
  • Seniors supported by family: As with the situations above, seniors who are claimed as dependents by a family member who supports them won’t be getting checks this year.
  • Immigrants without Social Security numbers: You don’t have to be a US citizen to get a check, but you will need a Social Security number. Otherwise, you’re out of luck.
  • Babies born this year: The $500 payment for children under 17 is based on 2019 taxes, which means if you had a baby recently, you might not see that extra money until much later.
  • Anyone who made over $98,000 last year: For those who earned more than $75,000 in 2019, your check will decrease in size until you hit $98,000, at which point you won’t receive one at all. Unfortunately, if you lost your job recently, you still won’t get a check, but you will get a credit next year.
  • Parents that split custody: If you split custody of your kids with someone else, and you didn’t claim your kids on your taxes this year, you won’t get any extra money for them.
  • Divorced/estranged couples: If you filed taxes with someone in 2019, but have since split up with that person, a payment of up to $2,400 will be deposited into whichever account was used for the last tax refund.
  • People with unpaid child support: If you have overdue child support payments, the amount that you owe might be taken out of your coronavirus stimulus check.

Congress and the president have stated on multiple occasions that the $2 trillion stimulus bill won’t be the last piece of legislation passed to help individuals, families, and businesses survive this uncertain time, but it’s clear that a large percentage of the population won’t receive any help at all from the first major bill.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.