A second round of stimulus payments that was included in a coronavirus relief package approved by Congress on Monday night is now at risk if President Trump does not sign the bill.
The agreement provided for checks of $ 600, but the president indicated on Tuesday that he would like that amount to increase to $ 2,000 per person.
House Republicans, however, on Thursday prevented Democrats from raising the sum – leaving the entire package at risk. Democrats took advantage of Trump’s surprise objections to the bill in an attempt to push Republicans to accept a higher value for stimulus checks – and Republican lawmakers are now in a difficult situation, where they will be forced to decide whether to challenge the president.
Democrats have pledged that their effort is not over, promising to move a bill to raise stimulus checks to $ 2,000 with a full vote up or down in the House on December 28.
Here are some important things to know about Covid-19 stimulus checks:
Who gets the fastest money: Payments don’t come out all at once. Those whose bank information is filed with the IRS you will probably receive the money first, because it will be deposited directly into your account. Others will receive prepaid paper checks or debit cards in the mail.
About 90 million people – more than half of those eligible – received their payments in the first three weeks of April, after signing the March agreement. Most people received their money in two months.
Still, about 12 million eligible Americans were at risk of not receiving the money because the IRS had no way of contacting them. Although most people receive their money automatically, very low-income people who do not normally file tax returns had to register online before November 21 to provide their address or bank account number.
IRS under pressure: If Congress keeps the eligibility requirements the same as in the first round of checks, the process can be almost as easy as pressing a button. But it can complicate things if the parameters are changed – especially if Congress adds restrictions in addition to revenue.
Additional checks may delay the beginning of the 2020 tax reporting season. A second stimulus check means that the agency will have to make changes to the tax return forms, some of which have already been sent to printers.
Some background: In March, Congress awarded individuals with direct payments of $ 1,200 and couples $ 2,400 plus $ 500 per child under the $ 2 trillion CARES Act.
As in the first round, the $ 600 payments included in current legislation would begin to be eliminated for individuals with an adjusted gross income of more than $ 75,000, and those earning more than $ 99,000 will receive nothing. Income limits would be doubled for couples.
Read more about Covid-19’s stimulus negotiations here.
Suzanne Malveaux, Phil Mattingly, Clare Foran and Kristin Wilson from CNN contributed to the report for this post.