Lawmakers in Washington, DC are negotiating what their second stimulus payment will be like.
The Senate unveiled its plan on Monday, while the House of Representatives approved its plan two months ago.
Both proposals are similar to the first stimulus payment with one big difference: how they handle dependent payments.
The original stimulus plan of the CARES Act coronavirus relief bill paid $ 500 for a child under the age of 17. That excluded many people, including older children, college students, and older family members who are dependent on someone else. They would be included as dependents in the two new stimulus proposals.
We still don’t know if any of these plans, or a compromise version, will finally be approved by Congress.
Except for the dependent payment, both plans would act very similarly to the CARES Act’s first stimulus payment, awarding $ 1,200 to singles earning up to $ 75,000 and $ 2,400 to couples filing a joint tax return and earning up to $ 150,000 . Those who file as heads of household, a common marital status for single parents, get $ 1,200 if they have incomes up to $ 112,500.
Singles earning up to $ 99,000 and couples earning up to $ 198,000 would get a partial benefit.
While the CARES Act allowed taxpayers to obtain an additional benefit of $ 500 for each dependent child under the age of 17, it excluded older children and older family members who are claimed as dependents on a person’s tax return .
The Senate plan would pay $ 500 for each dependent, regardless of age.
The House plan offers greater benefits for dependents. I would give $ 1,200 for each dependent with a maximum benefit of $ 6,000 per family, with no age limit.
Dependent benefits will also decrease gradually as your income level increases.
This calculator shows what your benefit might be under proposals from the Senate and House, but keep in mind that lawmakers will negotiate before we know the final plan.
Now, it is up to the parties in both houses to negotiate an agreement that can become law.
With the last stimulus payment, it took the IRS a while to get some system issues. This time it should be easier because, although not everyone has received payments since the first round, the agency has learned a few lessons that should help it get payments more efficiently this time, officials say.
For most Americans, the IRS will use the data from their 2019 tax return to determine the size of their benefit. If you don’t have your 2019 data, you will use your 2018 return.
The agency has also collected information on those who receive Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and veterans benefits, data that the IRS did not have when the first stimulus plan was approved.
The IRS created a tool to help low-income people who don’t file tax returns, the “Non-Filers: Enter Payment Information Here” tool, so people can file a simple tax return and log in to a stimulus payment. It also allowed people who don’t normally file tax returns to claim dependents to get the additional child benefit. That tool closed in May, but can eventually be reopened so people can make sure the IRS has their information.
NJ Advance Media staff writers Jonathan D. Salant and Chris Faytok contributed to this report.
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You can contact Karin Price Mueller at [email protected].
