- Millions of Americans could see a new stimulus check arrive as soon as next week, provided President Trump signs the $900 billion COVID relief bill passed by Congress earlier this week.
- US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the first new stimulus checks would start going out the week after Christmas.
- The first Americans who will receive the new stimulus checks are those whose direct deposit banking information is already on file with the IRS.
The first new stimulus check wave is poised to be sent out just days after Christmas, following Congress’s long-awaited passage of a new $900 billion COVID relief bill that includes money for the new checks as well as small business loans and much more.
“People are going to see this money the beginning of next week,” US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told CNBC, referring to the $600 checks for individuals which are a centerpiece of the new stimulus bill — and which, nonetheless, carry a big asterisk with them. That asterisk has to do with the fact that President Trump, as of Christmas morning, had not yet signed the massive relief package, which on Thursday was flown down to Palm Beach, Florida, to be presented to Trump (who’s staying at his Mar-a-Lago Florida resort for Christmas).
Earlier this week, the president stunned everyone with a video on Twitter in which he seemed to be threatening to not sign the bill unless the $600 stimulus checks were increased to $2,000-per-person.
This will be the second piece of coronavirus legislation from Congress to extend direct emergency payments to Americans hit hard by the pandemic and its resulting economic downturn, some nine months after Congress passed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act that included $1,200 stimulus checks. In addition to a new round of direct payments, this new bill would also extend a federal moratorium on evictions, provide almost $9 billion to support coronavirus vaccine distribution efforts, and offer an additional $300/week in federal unemployment aid.
The bipartisan COVID relief & omnibus bill has been enrolled. The House & Senate are now sending this important legislation #ForThePeople to the White House for the President’s signature. We urge him to sign this bill into law to give immediate relief to hard-working families!
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) December 24, 2020
If you want to know how big your new stimulus check will be — again, with the caveat that President Trump signs the relief measure that he threatened to torch unless he got his way — here’s a calculator you can use. As we said, generally, individuals can expect a $600 stimulus check (or $1,200 for married couples), but that amount changes depending on factors like your income.
To check how much you’re likely to receive, simply open that link and input the requested information on the left-hand side of the page, like how many children you have, your adjusted gross income for 2019, and your tax filing status.
Additional details to know: If you’re an individual who makes $75,000 per year or less, or a married couple making no more than $150,000 per year, you’ll get the full stimulus payment. For every $100 above those income thresholds, the stimulus check amount you receive will drop by $5.
Compared to the CARES Act, there’s more money this time around that’s added for dependent children. You can get an extra $600, compared to $500. Additionally, payments are going to go out the quickest to people with direct deposit banking information on file with the IRS. If that doesn’t include you, you’ll get a paper check later. Note: The IRS also has not yet said whether or not it will utilize the “Get My Payment” link that everyone used for their CARES Act stimulus checks.
