Stimulus check money: How your family may get more than a $1,200 payment
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We help you calculate the maximum amount that could end up in your pocket if another stimulus payment comes your way.
Angela Lang/CNET
You know by now that individual Americans could receive up to $1,200 apiece with the first stimulus payment, so long as they met a set of requirements based on their income (as defined by the IRS) and other important qualifications. So what happens with a second stimulus check? As it turns out, you could be up for an even larger sum this time around… if Congress restarts talks to finalize a stimulus bill before the Nov. 3 election, or perhaps if an executive action authorizes another round of payments.
How? A shift in qualifications could mean more dependents count toward your family’s overall benefit and more dependents means a larger check. However, there are other factors involved, too, which is why we created some scenarios below that could give you an idea of how much you’d be granted in stimulus money. We also created this stimulus check calculator to help with your overall estimate.
Keep reading for more details, and if you’re one of the 9 million nonfilers who could be eligible for the first stimulus payment, there’s still time to make a claim. This story updates often.
Your total payment could be more than $1,200. Here’s how to calculate it
Piecing together how much stimulus money you and your family could receive can get tricky, but we’ll help you estimate. The $1,200 figure for individuals is based on guidelines from the last stimulus bill and two proposals, and uses your adjusted gross income, or AGI, and a set of rules to determine the total you could personally expect.
Watch this:
Next stimulus checks: What to expect
But there are also allowances for your whole family, including up to $2,400 if you file jointly with your spouse, as well as more money for dependents. In the first round of stimulus checks, only dependents aged 16 or younger could qualify for an extra $500 each toward the family total. There’s bipartisan support to include more people this time, which means you could potentially receive more from a second round of payments than from the first.
We lay out some potential scenarios below, based on our stimulus check calculator, which you can also use to get a more specific estimate for your particular situation.
Stimulus check calculations
|
Scenario 1 |
Scenario 2 |
Scenario 3 |
Scenario 4 |
Scenario 5 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Filing status |
Single |
Head of household |
Married |
Married |
Married |
|
2018 or 2019 tax AGI |
$75,000 |
$90,000 |
$100,000 |
$100,000 |
$200,000 |
|
Dependents under 17 (CARES Act) |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Dependents over 17 (HEALS Act) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
Estimated check amount |
$1,200 |
$1,700 |
$3,400 |
$4,400 |
$900 |
The maximum amount your family could expect from another check
Depending on how negotiations shake out, the total amount your family may get could change. Here’s a look at the caps put in place to give you an idea of what government leaders are thinking.
CARES Act: With the CARES Act from March, there was no limit to the number of children who could count as dependents, as long as they were under 17 and claimed by the taxpayer on the tax return, according to the Tax Foundation. Each dependent would garner the taxpayer $500. Theoretically, a family in which two adults and six children under 17 were eligible for the full amount could receive $5,400.
HEALS Act: Similarly to the CARES Act, the HEALS Act put forth by Republicans doesn’t mention a cap on the amount a family may receive. The difference is that it doesn’t limit dependents to those under 17 to qualify for the $500 payment.
Heroes Act: The Heroes Act, put together by the Democratic-led House and which has never been taken up by the Senate, would place a cap of $6,000 on households of five or more. Essentially, it proposes $1,200 for each adult and dependent, with a maximum of three dependents per family.
The amount of stimulus money you could get in a second round of checks is still undecided.
James Martin/CNET
How the IRS might send you your stimulus payment
While there’s no official plan yet, it’s likely that receiving this second stimulus check would work much like it did the first time around.
Direct deposit: If you filed taxes in 2018 or 2019 and included direct-deposit banking information, it’s likely you can receive your check as a direct deposit. Even if you didn’t file your direct deposit information with the IRS during tax season, you should still be able to opt in. If you asked for an extension on your taxes, you can still file them before the deadline of Oct. 15, 2020, and choose to share your direct deposit information with the IRS. If another round of stimulus payments is authorized, the IRS is likely to reopen the online tool it used for the first round and let you log your information then.
A paper check in the mail: If you don’t register your banking details with the IRS, you’ll likely receive a paper check in the mail, which you can deposit or cash. If you’ve recently moved, make sure to file your change-of-address paperwork. The IRS will use your last known address, which could hold up delivery of your check or otherwise cause a delay.
EIP card: Under the CARES Act, about 4 million people were also sent money in the form of a prepaid economic impact payment card, a payment that you can spend like cash on a debit card. The cards came in plain, unmarked envelopes.
How Americans used their first round of stimulus checks
A recent survey looked at how Americans are using their stimulus checks. According to research from the National Bureau of Economic Research:
- 15% of recipients said they spent or would spend most of their checks.
- 33% said they mostly saved.
- 52% said they paid down debt.
In general, the report found that lower-income households were significantly more likely to spend their stimulus checks, higher-income individuals were more likely to save it and those with mortgages or who were renters were much more likely to pay off debt.
Looking for more stimulus check information? Read up on all the finer points of the stimulus payment here. If you’re still waiting leave application for fever in school your first stimulus check, here are 10 possible reasons for a delay, what you can do if you think your payment was lost or has fallen through the cracks and if you could receive two refund checks from the IRS.
Shelby Brown contributed to this report.