Where $5 Trillion In Pandemic Stimulus Money Went
By Alicia Parlapiano, Deborah B. Solomon, Madeleine Ngo and Stacy CowleyMarch 11, 2022
$1.8 trillion
$1.7 trillion
Workers received nearly $700 billion in unemployment benefits, including an extra $600 per week from March to July 2020.
State and local aid
Health care
Other
Roughly $80 billion went to airlines to help pay pilots, flight attendants and other staffers who were furloughed as travel dried up.
$745 billion
Almost $70 billion went to struggling transit agencies that rely on commuters for income.
Individuals and families
$482 billion
$288 billion
Stimulus bills approved by Congress beginning in 2020 unleashed the largest flood of federal money into the United States economy in recorded history. Roughly $5 trillion went to households, mom-and-pop shops, restaurants, airlines, hospitals, local governments, schools and other institutions around the country grappling with the blow inflicted by Covid-19.
Economists largely credit these financial jolts with helping the U.S. economy recover more quickly than it otherwise would have from the largest downturn since the Great Depression: The pandemic recession was the shortest on record, lasting only three months.
How Many Stimulus Checks Did Americans Receive
- Jennifer Roback
- Jennifer Roback
MANY AMERICANS suffered financially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In order to help Americans during the financial difficulties resulting from the pandemic, the government sent out stimulus checks.
Read our stimulus checks live blog for the latest updates on Covid-19 relief…
The Irs Won’t Tell You How Much Stimulus Money You’ll Get Here’s How To Figure Your Amount
You want to make sure you received the right amount in your third stimulus check.
Like many, you may have received your third stimulus check straight from the IRS by now, but it’s in your best interest to double-check the amount you got. The IRS is keeping track of lots of forms, figures and payments this spring, and depending on what the IRS had on hand for you when it calculated your stimulus check amount, it may not have used your current information. Our stimulus check calculator can help you quickly get an estimate for how much you qualify to receive and whether the IRS underestimated your payment, meaning you may be due a so-called “plus-up payment.”
Did you make less money in 2020 or have a baby? Maybe you gained a dependent? Any of those things could trigger a bigger third stimulus check than the IRS calculated for you. We’ll explain the details below. And here’s the deal with a possible fourth stimulus check, and how to calculate your child tax credit total for up to $3,600 per kid. This story is frequently updated.
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Heres How Much Individuals Will Get From The Economic Impact Payments
COVID Tax Tip 2020-40, April 14, 2020
Employed full or part time? Unemployed? A temporary or gig worker? Retired or disabled? Receive public benefits? Have no income? Most U.S. residents under certain income levels – will receive the Economic Impact Payment if they are not claimed as a dependent of another taxpayer and have a Social Security number.
Where Is My Third Stimulus Check
You can track the status of your third stimulus check by using the IRS Get My Payment tool, available in English and Spanish. You can see whether your third stimulus check has been issued and whether your payment type is direct deposit or mail.
When you use the IRS Get My Payment tool, you will get one of the following messages:
Payment Status, which means:
- A payment has been processed. You will be shown a payment date and whether the payment type is direct deposit or mail or
- Youre eligible, but a payment has not been processed and a payment date is not available.
Payment Status Not Available, which means:
- Your payment has not been processed or
- Youre not eligible for a payment.
Need More Information, which means:
- Your payment was returned to the IRS because the post office was unable to deliver it. If this message is displayed, you will have a chance to enter your banking information and receive your payment as a direct deposit. Otherwise, you will need to update your address before the IRS can send you your payment.
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How Much Will It Be
It depends. The payment is based on your tax filing status and adjusted gross income. The maximum amount is $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for families, but the payment decreases as adjusted gross income increases. There is also an additional $500 payment for each qualifying child. Individuals and families with incomes above certain amounts are not eligible. A general guide for payment amounts follows:
| Tax Filing Status |
|---|
** Eligible people will also receive an additional $500 for each qualifying child **
More Money For Certain Families
One big change with third stimulus checks was that an extra $1,400 was tacked on to your payment for any dependent in the family. For the first- and second-round payments, the additional amount allowed $500 for first-round payments and $600 in the second round was only given for dependent children age 16 or younger. As a result, families with older children, including college students age 23 or younger, or with elderly parents living with them, didn’t get the extra money added to their previous stimulus payments. That’s not the case for third-round stimulus checks.
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The Irs Classifies Me As An Older Adult What Should I Know
Many older adults, including retirees over age 65, received a first stimulus check under the CARES Act and were eligible for the second one and are for the third as well. For older adults and retired people, factors like your tax filings, your AGI, your pension and if youre part of the SSI or SSDI program will affect whether you receive a stimulus payment.
The third stimulus check makes older adult dependents eligible to receive more money on behalf of the household. Heres how to determine if you qualify for your own stimulus check or count as a dependent.
How much stimulus money you could get depends on who you are.
Will I Get An Eip Card
For the first and second stimulus checks, the Treasury Department sent millions of taxpayers an economic impact payment debit card. For the first stimulus check, EIP cards were sent to individuals who had not received a tax return by direct deposit in the past and who had their tax returns processed by certain IRS service centers. For the second stimulus check, the Treasury Department sent EIP cards to a majority of taxpayers.
If you received an EIP card for the second stimulus payment, you will probably receive a new EIP card for the third stimulus payment. If you receive an EIP card, read the material that comes with it carefully they come with fees for checking your balance, using a teller for withdrawals, or using an out-of-network ATM.
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Spending To Date For 22 Major Covid
All totals are in millions of dollars except Total Per Capita
| State | Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund | HHS COVID-19 Appropriations | Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund | Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund | Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund | Infrastructure Grants | Emergency Injury Disaster Loan Advances | Emergency Injury Disaster Loans | Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | |||||||||
| $137 |
Three Rounds Of Stimulus Checks See How Many Went Out And For How Much
While you may have heard them referred to as stimulus checks, the Economic Impact Payments were for the most part direct deposited into bank accounts or sent out as bank cards. More than 472 million payments totaling $803 billion in financial relief went to households impacted by the pandemic. The Internal Revenue Service based the amounts that individuals received on income, tax filing status, and number of children .
NOTE: If you did not receive an Economic Impact Payment in 2020 or 2021, or you have questions about the payments, please visit the Internal Revenue Service for more information.
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How Do I Find Out How Many Stimulus Checks I Received In 2021
Asked by: Mr. Devante West
To find the amounts of your Economic Impact Payments, check: Your Online Account: Securely access your individual IRS account online to view the total of your first, second and third Economic Impact Payment amounts under the Economic Impact Payment Information section on the Tax Records page.
How Much Money Will I Get
- Adults whose adjusted gross income is less than $75,000/year will get $1,400 for each adult, plus $1,400 for each dependent no matter how old they are. This applies to heads of households who make less than $112,500, as well.
- The IRS will use income information from your 2020 tax return if they received that return before sending your money. Otherwise they will use information from your 2019 tax return.
- If the IRS sends your payment based on a 2019 return and then your 2020 return says you qualify for more , they will send an additional payment to make up for the difference. To get the additional payment, you must file the 2020 tax return by 90 days from the filing deadline or September 1, 2021, whichever is earlier.
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Theres Still Time To Get Payments
If you havent yet filed your tax return, you still have time to file to get your missed 2021 stimulus payments.
Visit ChildTaxCredit.gov for details.
The IRS has issued all first, second and third Economic Impact Payments. You can no longer use the Get My Payment application to check your payment status.
Most eligible people already received their Economic Impact Payments. However, people who are missing stimulus payments should review the information below to determine their eligibility to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit for tax year 2020 or 2021.
Securely access your IRS online account to view the total of your first, second and third Economic Impact Payment amounts under the Tax Records page.
First Round Of Economic Stimulus Checks: April 2020
The CAREs Act included a provision for a round of stimulus payments eligible tax-paying adults received a check of up to $1,200 while eligible dependents under 16 years of age received $500 each .
The payments were made to everyone earning under the income limits, which were set at Adjusted Gross Income of $75,000 with the stimulus check value reducing in a tapered fashion up to a maximum of $99,000 . The very first stimulus checks were paid into people’s bank accounts over the weekend of the 11 and 12 of April, either via direct deposit into individuals bank accounts, paper checks sent through the post or in some cases, through a prepaid debit card, the Economic Impact Payment Card which were sent out in late May/early June last year.
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Can I Claim A Stimulus Check For Someone Who Is Deceased
Yes. For the third stimulus check, people who have died on or after January 1, 2021, are eligible to receive the third stimulus check. However, for married military couples, the date of eligibility is expanded. If the person who died was a member of the military and died before January 1, 2021, the surviving spouse can still receive the third stimulus check, even if they dont have an SSN.
For the first and second stimulus check, the IRS has stated that people who died on or after January 1, 2020, are eligible to receive both payments.
If they didnt receive the stimulus payments or didnt receive the full amounts that they are eligible for, spouses or other family members can file a 2020 federal tax return and claim it as part of their tax refund or use GetCTC.org if they dont have a filing requirement. The deadline to use GetCTC.org is November 15, 2021.
Was I Eligible To Get A Stimulus Check
You were eligible to get a stimulus check and should have gotten the full amount if you filed taxes and had an adjusted gross income of:
- up to $75,000 if single or married filing separately.
- up to $112,500 if you filed as head of household
- up to $150,000 if married and you filed a joint tax return.
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You Got The Last Stimulus Check Will You Get This One
Not necessarily. While the same people who received the full amounts in the previous two rounds of stimulus payments will likely get the full amount this time, the checks will phase out faster now cutting off people at a lower income level.
The first round, which was worth up to $1,200, excluded individuals who earned at least $99,000, head of household filers with one child who earned more than $136,500 and married couples without children earning more than $198,000 but families earning a little more were still eligible if they had children. About 160 million payments were delivered, with 94% of families receiving the money.
The second round, which was worth up to $600, also phased out a little faster because the full amount was smaller. It phased out entirely at $87,000 for single filers without children and $174,000 for those married filing jointly without children. Again, those earning a little more were still eligible if they had children. About 158 million payments went out, with 92% of families receiving them.
The payments have been based on a taxpayers most recent tax return. So those who have filed new returns since last March could fall into or out of eligibility if their incomes changed.
Why Do States Receive Different Amounts Of Federal Covid Aid
Its not surprising that the most populated states often receive the most funding within each COVID relief program.However, the amount of funding per capita can vary state by state for many reasons. Each COVID relief program includes different criteria for how money is allocated. For example, variations in direct aid to state and local government entities under the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan, are shown below.
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How Do I Get My Third Stimulus Check
You dont need to do anything if:
- You have filed a tax return for tax year 2019 or 2020.
- You are a Social Security recipient, including Social Security Disability Insurance , railroad retiree. Or you are a Supplemental Security Insurance and Veterans Affairs beneficiary.
- You successfully signed up for the first stimulus check online using the IRS Non-Filers tool or submitted a simplified tax return that has been processed by the IRS.
The IRS will automatically send your payment. You can check on the status of your third stimulus check by visiting the IRS Get My Payment tool, available in English and Spanish.
If you are missing your third stimulus check, file your 2020 tax return or use GetCTC.org if you dont have a filing requirement. By submitting your information to the IRS, you will be signed up and automatically sent the third stimulus check.
Third Round Of Stimulus Checks: March 2021
Barely a week after the second round of stimulus payments were completed, new president Joe Biden entered office and immediately unveiled his American Rescue Plan, which proposed a third of round of payments to Americans, including some of those who might have missed out on the first two rounds.
On Thursday 11 March, Biden signed his $1.9tn American Rescue Plan into law. The third payment provided eligible individual taxpayers for a check of up to $1,400, while couples filing jointly could receive a maximum of $2,800. In addition, families with dependents were eligible for an extra payment of $1,400 per dependent, regardless of the dependent’s age this time, there was no limit to the number of dependents that could be claimed for.
The first stimulus payments were issued swiftly – just hours after Biden has signed the bill, the first batch of 164 million payments, with a total value of approximately $386 billion, arrived by direct deposit in individuals bank accounts. Some received their payments on the weekend of 13/14 March 2021. Since then, payments had been sent on a weekly basis including “plus-up” payments until the end of the year. Like before, those who didn’t get all the EPI3 funds in 2021 due to them will be able to claim them when they file their tax returns in the spring of 2022.
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Amount Based On 2019 Or 2020 Tax Return
For third-round stimulus payments, eligibility and amounts were based on either your 2019 or 2020 return. If your 2020 tax return wasn’t filed and processed by the IRS by the time the tax agency started processing your third stimulus payment, then the IRS used information from your 2019 tax return. If your 2020 return was already filed and processed when the IRS was ready to send your payment, then your stimulus check eligibility and amount was based on the information on your 2020 return. If your 2020 return was filed and/or processed after the IRS sent you a third stimulus check, but before December 1, 2021, the IRS sent you a second “plus-up” payment for the difference between what your payment should have been if based on your 2020 return and the payment actually sent based on your 2019 return. As a result, your third stimulus check may have been higher or lower depending on when you filed your 2020 tax return.
