Now that the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package has made its way through the House and the Senate, the last step is for President Joe Biden to sign the bill into law. White House press secretary Jen Psaki has said that Biden plans to sign the American Rescue Plan on Friday, and as soon as he does, the Internal Revenue Service can start gearing up to send out $1,400 stimulus checks to eligible Americans. Biden’s administration hasn’t announced a precise date yet, but the first direct deposits should start hitting bank accounts as early as next week.
“So, once it’s passed, the bill text will be rechecked, printed, and signed by the appropriate leaders in the House and Senate,” Psaki explained. “The House clerks will then deliver it to the White House for the President’s signature. We expect that delivery to happen sometime tomorrow, and then the President will sign it on Friday.”
President Donald Trump signed last year’s $900 billion coronavirus relief bill on Sunday, December 27th, and the first $600 stimulus checks began arriving via direct deposit by the night of Tuesday, December 29th. If the IRS can act just as quickly this time around, there’s a chance that some Americans could receive their $1,400 payments on Monday or Tuesday of next week, providing the IRS has their information to initiate a direct deposit.
Here’s what Jen Psaki said about how and when the payments will go out during a recent press briefing:
For households who’ve already filed their income tax return for 2020, the IRS will use that information to determine eligibility and size of payments. For households that haven’t yet filed for 2020, the IRS will review records from 2019 to determine eligibility and the size of payment. That includes those who used the “non-filer portal” for previous rounds of payments. For tax returns with direct deposit or bank account information, the IRS will be able to send money electronically. And for those households for which Treasury cannot determine a bank account, paper checks or debit cards will be sent.
If you haven’t filed your taxes or the IRS doesn’t have your information for whatever reason, you’re going to have to wait to receive a physical check or debit card in the mail. That will obviously take longer than receiving an electronic deposit, but Biden took at least one step that might help to speed up the process.
As for eligibility, not everyone who was expecting a third stimulus check is going to receive it. Individuals who earn $75,000 or less will receive the full $1,400, but the payments will now phase out entirely for anyone earning $80,000 or more. Similarly, married couples earning $150,000 or less will get the full amount, but those that earn $160,000 or more will not be eligible for the payments. This is one of the changes the Senate made to the bill.
