From CNET | written by Jessica Dolcourt
President Trump signed the stimulus bill on Sunday night, avoiding the government shutdown. Today, the House will vote on $2,000 stimulus checks.
Sunday night, after days of criticizing the $600 second stimulus check, President Donald Trump signed the $2.3 trillion combination federal-budget and COVID-relief billthat joins $900 billion in stimulus money with next year’s funding for the government. In addition to authorizing a second stimulus check for $600, the bipartisan relief package renews programs both Democrats and Republicans agree are critical, including $300 federal unemployment benefits, money to help small businesses pay employee wages, a month-long extension through January of a federal eviction ban and funding to help distribute the coronavirus vaccine.
But immediately after signing the bill, Trump on Sunday night began urging Congress to approve the larger $2,000 checks this week. “As President, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child.”
Trump’s change of mind about approving the $600 amount came at the end of a weekend where US leaders from President-elect Joe Biden to Senators Pat Toomey and Bernie Sanders criticized Trump’s delay in signing the bill.
“The compromise bill is not perfect, but it will do an enormous amount of good for struggling Kentuckians and Americans across the country who need help now,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted minutes after Trump signed the bill.
The possibility for a $2,000 check, however, still hangs by a thread. The House is in session on Monday and intends to vote on the larger amount before sending bill to the Senate, which will be in session on Tuesday.
Biden has referred to the stimulus portion of the joint package as a “first step and down payment,” forecasting a larger bill after he’s sworn into office — including a third stimulus check.
House will vote Monday on a $2,000 second stimulus check bill
The House of Representatives intends to vote Monday on a bill (PDF) to authorize the second stimulus check Trump is asking for, for up to $2,000 per qualified adult. It isn’t clear if the legislation will come up for a vote in the Senate. It all depends on whether Trump will continue to hold sway with Senate Republicans in his final weeks before Biden is sworn in as president, or whether a $2,000 check — which could greatly increase the size of the COVID-19 relief allocation — will divide the party.
“If the president is serious about the $2,000 direct payments, he must call on House Republicans to end their obstruction,” Pelosi said Dec. 24. “On Monday, I will bring the House back to session where we will hold a recorded vote on our stand-alone bill to increase economic impact payments to $2,000 … Hopefully by then the president will have already signed the bipartisan and bicameral legislation to keep government open and to deliver coronavirus relief.”
Democrats advocated through the summer and fall for a larger second stimulus checkas part of a broader aid package. Trump distanced himself from negotiations, and his administration’s own negotiator, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, offered the $600 ceiling for the second stimulus check totals.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers passed the two-in-one omnibus package by overwhelming margins on Dec. 21, after months of frustrating on-and-off negotiations.
While we closely follow the situation, read on for more information about the $2,000 stimulus check amount (the figure was advanced by a number of Democrats in mid-2020), the scenarios that could play out next and what we know about a third stimulus check for 2021. This story is updated often with new information.
Trump’s $2,000 stimulus check figure treads familiar terrain
Since spring, several Democrats have suggested a $2,000 stimulus check, including Vice President-elect Sen. Kamala Harris, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey and one-time presidential hopeful (and now New York mayoral hopeful) Andrew Yang. Some supporters of this figure have even suggested sending checks on a monthly rather than a one-time basis.
Biden already supports a third stimulus check
Many US leaders seem to see the $900 billion stimulus bill as a precursor to a larger relief package in 2021, one that may include a third stimulus check and other provisions that Republicans and Democrats agreed to leave out this round to pass a critical deal.
“This bill is just the first step, a down payment, in addressing the crisis — crises, more than one — that we’re in,” Biden said Tuesday, emphasizing that he would like to see a third stimulus check.
How quickly could the IRS send your payment?
Aid will likely begin to go out within the next week week or two, with certain funding programs possibly receiving financial help before the end of 2020. On Dec. 21, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin gave the following week as the target for sending payments via direct deposit to people who qualify for a second stimulus check to receive their payment, intended to bring direct cash flow to tens of millions of Americans.
Because of the delay signing the bill, the timeline will likely shift a week, since agencies need time to set up their processes and communicate with recipients about what they need to do or expect.
You can calculate your second stimulus check total now. Here’s which payment group you might be in. Here’s what we know about how quickly we think the IRS could send a second stimulus check, and here are more details about weekly unemployment insurance.
Why didn’t the bill include a $1,200 or $2,000 second stimulus check?
A second stimulus check has had wide bipartisan support ever since the CARES Act passed. Over the last several months, everyone from Trump and Biden to members of Congress, economists and everyday people have advocated for another direct payment.
Trump has previously called for “more money than they’re talking about” in stimulus checks, as large as $1,200 or $2,000 per person. Aides reportedly convinced him at the time that making such demands would jeopardize a stimulus bill, The Washington Post reported, and the White House offer was officially extended at $600 tops.
Although many favor a $1,200 direct payment in theory, a second smaller stimulus check has helped keep costs below the $1 trillion cutoff that Republican lawmakers have in the past said they’d support.
Stimulus checks aren’t cheap. The IRS said this summer that it had spent $270 billion sending out 160 million checks, and on Dec. 15, Sen. Mitt Romney, a Republican who has been involved in crafting the bipartisan stimulus proposal, forecast a cost of $300 billion if the checks were once again included for $1,200 per person. Republicans reportedly bridled at the cost.
Stimulus check 2: Eligibility basics you should know
Broadly, here’s who is eligible for money with the second stimulus payment. If the current version of the bill, payments top out at $600 apiece, and as you reach the upper AGI limit, the amount of your check will decrease. A family of four that qualifies, for example, could receive up to $2,400. For a complete breakdown, check out our stimulus check qualifications guide.
To get the full $600 stimulus per person, either:
- As an individual without qualifying children, you have an adjusted gross income of up to $75,000 (this completely phases out at $87,000, down from the $99,000 used for the first check).
- You file as the head of a household (you claim children) and earn under $112,500.
- You file jointly without children and earn less than $150,000 and no more than $174,000 (down from $198,000 from the first check).
- Any dependent child under age 17 will count for an additional $600.
Note, if you don’t qualify for a second stimulus check based on 2019 data but you would qualify based on your 2020 financial situation, you will not receive a second check this year. However, you can get that amount as a credit against your 2020 taxes.
If you qualify based on 2019 tax information but will be over the limit in 2020, you will receive a second check and do not need to repay it.
Who wouldn’t qualify for the next stimulus check?
We have a list of people who may not qualify for a second stimulus check. If you are over the income limit, a nonresident alien or a dependent 17 years of age or older, you won’t qualify for a check. The People’s Policy Project think tank estimates 13.5 million adult dependents will be excluded under the requirements, including 7.3 million students.
For everything to know about the second payment, see what else is in the new stimulus bill, when the IRS could start sending checks and what we know about renewed federal unemployment benefits in the new bill.
How would my second stimulus payment get to me?
If the IRS has your banking information on file, either from your federal taxes or from the first stimulus payment, your payment could come directly to your bank via direct deposit, starting in about a week or less. The Treasury Department said as of this summer that about 75% of recipients were paid via direct deposit, 22% by paper check and 3% through a prepaid EIP card.
When could the IRS start sending out checks?
Soon. On Dec. 21, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, “The good news is [direct deposit] is a very, very fast way of getting money into the economy. Let me emphasize: People are going to see this money at the beginning of next week.”
Starting in the new year, the IRS will send out payments on paper checks and prepaid EIP cards to those for whom it does not have banking information on file. But sending the payments shouldn’t drag on for months, as the first payments did. By Jan. 15, if the IRS has not sent your payment — or sent the wrong amount — you can claim your money when you file your taxes this year.
If you have any questions related to these issues, please give this office a call. Isler Northwest LLC is a firm of business advisors and CPA’s in Portland, Oregon. Our local, regional, and global resources, our expertise, and our emphasis on innovative solutions and continuity create value for our clients. Our service goal at Isler Northwest is to earn our clients’ trust as their primary business and financial advisor.
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