Will There Be A Fourth Stimulus Check
US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made this announcement a few weeks ago that a fourth stimulus payment is indeed coming for some people. The funding that makes it possible? It actually came from the so-called American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion legislation from earlier this year that authorized the $1,400 stimulus checks everyone got several months ago.
That legislation also supported a $700 million program thats funding this fourth stimulus check. The money is going to farmworkers, meatpacking workers, and grocery store employees, though its unclear at this point how much exactly the latter will get.
We recognize that our farmworkers, meatpacking workers, and grocery workers overcame unprecedented challenges and took on significant personal risk to ensure Americans could feed and sustain their families throughout the pandemic, Vilsack said in a news release about the forthcoming payment. They deserve recognition for their resilience.
Cons Of Taking The Monthly Child Tax Credit Payments
- Youll only get half of the money at tax time. If you take this advance payment of the Child Tax Credit now, just know that youll only see the other half after you file your taxes next yearand not the full amount. Remember, this is an up-front payment of the regular amount you get.
- You might have to pay some of it back. Now listen up: This is only if your income went up from 2020 to 2021. Lets say you lost your job like so many Americans did in 2020, but then you got a new job in 2021. The tax credit is taking the info it has from your 2020 taxes, so your new income might push you over the limits and start to phase out .
- Your payment will be sent to whoever claimed the kids on the 2020 tax returns. If youre divorced or separated, these advance Child Tax Credit payments will go to the parent who had the kids listed on their taxes that year.
- You might need that full amount of money at tax time. If youre self-employed, making quarterly payments, or usually owe money to the IRS, you might want to opt out of monthly payments here. Youll probably need that full amount to help bring down the amount youll pay at tax time.
What Is A Plus
A plus-up payment is basically just a bonus amount that you probably should have gotten the first time you filed your taxes. The IRS actually owes more money to some people based on their tax returns. If the IRS used your 2019 tax information to dish out your stimulus payment but your 2020 taxes show that it underpaid youyou might be in for a plus-up payment based on your income. But remember, this isnt for everyoneonly those who had a change in income or dependents would qualify for more stimulus money.
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Injured Spouse Claim And Spousal Claims
The IRS also stated that If you are married filing jointly and you filed an injured spouse claim with your 2019 tax return , half of the total payment will be sent to each spouse and your spouses stimulus check payment will be offset only for past-due child support. There is no need to file another injured spouse claim for the payment. I have received dozens of comments on this this, so hopefully this answers the questions many have had based on official IRS guidance.
Note that if you were current with your child support payments at the time of the stimulus eligibility determination but fell behind afterwards due to a COVID-19 related job loss, you would still be eligible to get the full stimulus payment.
Updating Direct Deposit Information
This question has come up a lot in the hundreds of comments to this article. The IRS has setup a portal for individuals to provide their updated banking information to receive payments via direct deposit as opposed to checks in the mail. The IRS does recommend that 2018 Filers who need to change their account information or mailing address, file 2019 taxes electronically as soon as possible. That is the only way to let us know your new information. You can file for free via TurboTax.
California: Up To $1050 Rebate
Californias new budget includes payments of $350 for individual taxpayers who make $75,000 or less. Couples filing jointly will receive $700 if they make no more than $150,000 annually. Eligible households will also receive an additional $350 if they have qualifying dependents.
Taxpayers with incomes between $75,000 and $250,000 will receive a phased benefit with a maximum payment of $250. Those households can get up to an additional $250 if they have eligible dependents.
Californians can expect to receive payments between October 2022 and January 2023 via direct deposit and debit cards.
Read more: California Families To Receive Stimulus Checks Up To $1,050
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Is The $1400 Stimulus Check For Seniors Real
Every citizen wants to get better off in any financial crisis, and a stimulus check is also another way to go for the seniors. As the Senior Citizens League has promoted it, but there is no response from the government. It means it is a hope and expectation of the senior citizens from the government.
Heres What We Know So Far
Congress is discussing the fourth round of stimulus checks maybe even a fifth round. Though, plans for more stimulus checks havent been cemented just yet.
However, President Biden has planned for two economic bills. The president proposed a $6 trillion budget on Friday, May 28, for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, according to NPR.
Part of this holistic budget is the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. According to NPR, the American Jobs Plans budget is $2.3 trillion, the American Families Plans budget is $1.8 trillion and the discretionary budget is $1.5 trillion.
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Parents Are More Likely Than Non
Although there’s little appetite in Washington D.C. for a fourth stimulus check to be distributed to everyone, there is some bipartisan support for an expanded Child Tax Credit.
The last stimulus bill, the American Rescue Plan Act, made more money available to parents by changing the current rules for the existing Child Tax Credit. Parents were eligible to receive up to $3,600 for children under age 6 and up to $3,000 for kids aged 6 to 17.
While Republicans aren’t in favor of doing exactly what the American Rescue Plan Act did for parents, those on the right have put forth various proposals to also expand this tax credit. And there’s broad support on the left for more financial help to parents.
What If I Got A Check But Wasnt Supposed To
Before you do anything, make sure youre really not supposed to get a payment. If youre sure, then youll need to return the money. And while youre at it, you guys, head over to the IRS Portal to opt out of future payments. This is super important! You dont want that payment to keeping dropping in your bank account when youre not supposed to be getting it.
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These Professionals Will Receive Another Stimulus Check
The states and cities referenced above are issuing fourth stimulus checks to help in the pandemic. Some regions are also offering relief to specific professions.
- Teachers: Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Tennessee, and Texas are issuing stimulus checks to contribute to teachers in their state. Each state has its own criteria to aid their teachers and funds will either go directly to the teacher or to the school to support teachers and education.
- Front-Line Workers: Maine and Vermont are issuing stimulus checks to the personnel that worked in the pandemic.
- Healthcare Personnel:Missouri is aiding the people working in mental health facilities, nursing homes, and correctional facilities.
What To Do With Your Stimulus Check
No matter how small or large your relief check is, the arrival of an unexpected sum of money can be a great incentive to move forward in your financial journey.
Whether you receive a stimulus check of $50 or $1,000, you should consider using it to pay down any high-interest debt such as or personal loans, investing it in a Roth IRA or traditional IRA or saving it for a future home purchase. Select ranked Charles Schwab and Fidelity as some of the best brokers who offer Roth IRAs.
If your emergency fund is low or you’re saving for a big purchase, put your new stimulus money into a savings account. And if you’re currently earning a low interest rate on these funds, think about opening a high-yield savings account which can pay you more on your money each month the American Express® High Yield Savings Account and the Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account are two good ones to consider.
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As Of Now A Fourth Stimulus Check Is Unlikely
Recently, calls have circulated online for a fourth stimulus check to be approved, with many saying that although the payments have stopped, the pandemic clearly hasnt.
Over three million people have signed a Change.org petition calling for recurring $2,000 payments for adults and $1,000 payments for children until the pandemic ends.
But no such payment has yet been approved, IRS spokesperson Eric Smith told USA TODAY.
This isnt the first time people have posted misinformation about fourth stimulus checks. Similar posts also circulated in May and of 2021.
Fact check:False claim that image shows salaries of government officials and service members
Analysts have their doubts about whether a fourth stimulus check is likely to be approved.
CBS News wrote on Jan. 31 that the Biden administrations focus on infrastructure to spur economic growth combined with criticisms that the previous stimulus contributed to ongoing inflation have lowered the odds of another cash infusion.
A Fourth Stimulus Check In 2022 To Deal With Inflation Pressures
There has plenty of talk of a fourth stimulus check in 2022, originally as a relief payment in Bidens build Back Better Bill and now as a way to offset higher costs many consumers are seeing due to record inflation.
However progress on a 4th stimulus check has stalled in Congress due to lack of agreement among Democrats and Republicans and what they can sell to their constituents ahead of the upcoming mid-term elections.
A 2022 Gas Stimulus?
With rising gas prices, many states are providing gas tax holidays which save drivers a few cents at the pump. Some states and even Congress are also considering a 2022 gas relief stimulus check which will pay families up to $400 p/month through 2022.
With the economy rebounding strongly, higher inflation and unemployment claims falling, it was hard for most Democrats in Congress to justify spending billions of dollars on even more stimulus payments.
Some states like California however, are making state specific stimulus payments to provide inflation relief for lower income workers which may be replicated in other states.
There is also the expanded monthly Child Tax Credit stimulus payment for families who have qualifying dependents. While this is not technically a fourth dependent stimulus and rather more of an advanced tax credit it will act like a stimulus payment because it is being paid directly by the IRS to nearly 70 million dependents and their families. This has provisions for another 12 month extension under the BBB.
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What Was The Timeline For The Third Stimulus Check
Once the bill moved through all the hoops, eligible people started seeing their stimulus payments before March 2021 was over.7 The IRS and U.S. Treasury have been quick with delivering past stimulus checksDecember 2020s payments reached most folks by direct deposit within a week of then President Donald Trump signing the legislation.8
Fourth Stimulus Check: Are More Payments Coming
Here’s what we know about a possible fourth stimulus check
A fourth stimulus check from the government could take one of two forms: monthly checks in fairly small amounts, or one-time payments of up to $2,000.
Both options have been put forward by legislators in Congress as follow-ups to the third round of pandemic relief payments, which were made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act of March 2021.
The U.S. economy is still recovering, with slow but steady job growth even as unemployment numbers hold steady and the Delta variant of COVID-19 causes hospitalization rates to soar.
The federal moratorium on evictions ended Aug. 26 with a Supreme Court ruling , and millions now face losing their homes. Inflation , however, appears to be on the rise, contributing to fears among economists and lawmakers that further stimulus payments could only fuel more price hikes.
As a result, there’s no legislation in Congress that’s likely to pass that would create a fourth round of stimulus payments, even though some Democratic lawmakers have called on President Joe Biden to consider recurring payments.
The White House has passed back the buck, stating that the president would consider whatever Congress comes up with.
“We’ll see what members of Congress propose,” Psaki added, “but those are not free.”
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When Could The Stimulus Payments Start
Following approval of the bill on March 11th, millions of Americans will start seeing the third stimulus payments by mid-to-late March 2021 per the estimated IRS payment schedule and official Biden administration guidance. Comments below confirm these are going out now. You can also check the IRS Get May Payment tool for the latest status of your payment. See payment FAQs from the second round of payments, which will also apply for the most part this time around.
Due to the fact that payments are going out in the middle of tax season it may be very hard to get a hold of someone in the IRS to help with payment issues and you will likely have to wait until after April 15th to follow up on issues.
Fourth Stimulus Checks Heres An Update On Where Payments Stand
FILE – This May 8, 2008, file photo shows blank checks on an idle press at the Philadelphia Regional Financial Center, which disburses payments on behalf of federal agencies in Philadelphia. AP
President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into effect on Thursday, March 11. While millions of Americans have received the third round of stimulus checks worth up to $1,400 per eligible individual, it was just last week the government sent another round of those overdue payments.
The IRS sent another $1.8 million in direct payments of stimulus checks last week. This brought up the total of third-round stimulus money to an estimated $391 billion and around 167 million payments.
According to Yahoo! Finance, the second round of stimulus checks came in about 147 million payments, which means more payments went sent out in the third round. Now while the third round of stimulus checks is seemingly winding down, what about a fourth round?
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The Reality Of The 4th Stimulus Check For Seniors
Social security recipients are expected to receive a significant cost of living adjustment in 2022. So many retirees are living on a fixed income. For this, the non-partisan seniors started a petition to lobby Congress for a new $1400 stimulus check for seniors. The petition explains that I want social security recipients to receive a $1400 emergency stimulus check to cope with this unprecedented inflationary year. Social security benefits are one of the few types of income in retirement adjusted for inflation. Social security recipients are expected to receive a 6% COLA increase in 2022. Medicare costs and rising inflation have been a big headache as it is eating away all the money in the wallet.
However, the Senior Citizens League, one of the largest nonpartisan seniors citizens advocacy groups, has a petition for support and attention for an emergency stimulus check. But it is important to note that there are a few possibilities to get such a stimulus check because a spokesperson for the internal revenue service has confirmed that there are no further stimulus payments authorized by law. Congress needs to enact legislation that would then be signed into law by President Joe Biden to make sure another stimulus check is going to be authorized.
Fourth Stimulus Check Update
Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act, which created the third stimulus checks, did boost tax credits for most parents with children under 18, but only for the year 2021. Most parents and legal guardians will receive a tax credit of $3,600 for children under six, and $3,000 per child aged six through 17.
Half of that credit is coming in the form of monthly advance payments to parents beginning July 15 $300 per month for younger kids, and $250 for older ones. That’s similar to the monthly recurring checks that some legislators have called for.
The same law also retroactively exempted a large chunk of unemployment benefits paid out in 2020 from federal income tax. People who collected unemployment in 2020 and paid tax on it are getting thousands of dollars in tax-refund checks.
The American Rescue Plan Act also offers tax credits that cover all or most of the cost of a “Silver” health-insurance plan for six months under the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. You’re eligible for this if you filed for unemployment benefits at any time in 2021, and if you don’t currently get health insurance through Medicare, Medicaid or someone else’s health plan.
Biden’s American Families Plan, which is separate from the American Jobs Plan, will seek to extend those tax credits, including the advance payments, through the end of 2025.
The American Families Plan would also mandate up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave and subsidies for childcare.
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