JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Many Americans are counting down the days until stimulus checks hit their bank accounts after Congress passed the $2.2 trillion spending bill last week.
The U.S. Department of Treasury estimates that people should begin receiving their stimulus checks over the next three weeks. Those who already have direct deposit only have to sit back and wait for theirs to arrive.
The big questions on most people’s minds are, do they qualify for a check? And if so, how much money is that check going to provide?
The answer is likely around $1,200 for those of us earning $75,000 a year or less.
“It is a very comprehensive plan,” Bill Haley, president and CEO of Family Foundations, said. “It’s supposed to reach people on Social Security, people who are in the gig economy, which are sometimes people who are forgotten.”
Taking things a step further, here are some of the individuals who can expect a check: anyone living on disability, Social Security and retirement benefits. In addition, veterans and the self-employed also have checks coming to them.
“The income levels will be based off your last tax filings,” Haley said. “If you’re ahead of the curb here and you filed for 2019 and that event has occurred, you will definitely get that. Other people who haven’t filed will look back to 2018.”
The federal government will not withhold stimulus checks from individuals if they already receive government assistance, or even if they already owe money to the Internal Revenue Service. There is, however, one exception.
“If you are behind on your child care payment, you could potentially get less," Haley said. “But everybody else will get the full payment.”
Payments might take longer than three weeks to arrive for those without direct deposit. The IRS is expected to release a web-based application for people to provide the details needed to get their payments.