$ 1,400 stimulus checks are on the way. Here’s who qualifies

President Joe Biden sanctioned $ 1.9 trillion in new coronavirus relief on Thursday, meaning that $ 1,400 stimulus checks could start to reach Americans in the next few days.

Payments are expected to go to around 159 million households.

“People can expect direct deposits to reach their bank accounts as early as this weekend,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday.

“Payments to eligible Americans will continue over the next few weeks,” she said.

Checks will have a maximum of $ 1,400 per individual, or $ 2,800 per couple, plus $ 1,400 per dependent.

Like previous direct payments, this third round will be based on revenue.

The income limits for those who will receive the maximum amount will remain the same. Individuals earning up to $ 75,000 in adjusted gross income, heads of households with up to $ 112,500 and couples entering with up to $ 150,000 will receive a total amount of $ 1,400 per person.

This time, however, the amount decreases in a faster clip. Payments will be limited to $ 80,000 per individual, $ 120,000 for breadwinners and $ 160,000 for couples. People with adjusted gross income levels and above will receive nothing.

Consequently, fewer people will receive reduced payments this time.

“If you received a full payment last time, you will receive full payment this time,” as long as your income has not changed substantially, said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy.

Checks for $ 1,400 will generally be based on tax returns for 2020 or 2019, depending on the most recent records that have been processed by the IRS.

The government will also send payments to any non-filers it has registered.

Here is a list of who else may or may not receive money this time.

The $ 1,400 payments will also go to eligible dependents. This time, it includes those aged 17 or older.

The money will be sent to the adults who have claimed the dependents.

As with previous checks, individuals will need a valid Social Security number to qualify.

Therefore, if you file your taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, you are not eligible.

For couples where one spouse has a Social Security number and another spouse has an ITIN, only the spouse with the Social Security number will receive payment. Your children also qualify, as long as they also have a valid Social Security number.

“A lot of people thought we should just hand over the checks to everyone,” said Wamhoff. “This legislation has an intermediate approach.”

People who were alive on January 1 will qualify.

People who have unpaid private debts – excluding pending child support payments or tax debts – may be at risk of having their stimulus checks decked out.

This is due to the fact that lawmakers used a process known as budget reconciliation to approve the coronavirus relief package, which limited their ability to prevent payments from being seized. However, banking and consumer trade groups have called for accompanying legislation to change that.

If you receive no payment of $ 1,400 or a reduced check, but your income changes, you can claim the money owed by filing your taxes next year.

“Any change, be it a slight reduction in earnings or even just putting more money into a traditional IRA or 401 (k), can generate a much higher total payment when you do your 2021 taxes,” said Garrett Watson, senior policy analyst at the Foundation. tributary.

“There is a subset of people who will be in this situation,” said Watson.

This also applies to this year’s tax return season for people who missed past payments of $ 1,200 or $ 600. You can claim a recovery refund credit to recover any money that was possibly owed. This is also available to people who do not normally file tax returns because their income is very low.

The IRS website provides information about free filing tools.