Second stimulus check for 2020: What’s the most money you would get? It depends

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With another stimulus package in the works, how much money could end up in your pocket?


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There’s one thing you want to know: how big your next stimulus check could be, and how much money you and your family could get with the next payment. That depends on a lot of factors outside of your control, including if a deal can be reached by Friday and what happens if it isn’t.

Based on the final bill’s eligibility requirements, you could get a check that’s bigger than you did from the first stimulus payment. If negotiators base the rescue package on the HEALS Act, for example, some families could receive an additional $500 for dependents who didn’t qualify the first time. Both the Democratic-led House of Representatives and President Donald Trump have proposed larger stimulus payments, though a bigger check seems like a long shot at this stage.

Nearing the end of the second week of negotiations, the chances of reaching an agreement before the weekend looks iffy. “We might not get a deal,” The Hill reported Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican from Alabama, saying Thursday. “There’s a lot of pessimism here. Are we too far apart?”

What does this all mean for the amount of your stimulus check? Read on for everything we know right now. This story updates often.


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How much of the $1,200 second stimulus check could you get?

The Senate’s HEALS Act proposes an upper limit of $1,200 per qualified person, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to get it all. Your tax filing status helps determine your share, among other factors.

The first stimulus check left out child dependents who were 17 or older and university students under 24 years old. The Republican plan would include $500 for dependents regardless of age, such as children and adults you claim in your tax filings.

Stimulus check calculations

Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Scenario 4
Filed 2019 taxes? Yes Yes No No
Filing status Single Head of household Married Married
2018 or 2019 tax AGI $80,000 $140,000 $130,000 $130,000
Dependents under 17 (CARES Act) 0 1 2 2
Dependents over 17 (HEALS Act) 0 0 0 2
Calculated check amount $950 $1,325 $3,400 $4,400

The calculations can be tricky, and they depend on aspects of your 2019 taxes, such as your adjusted gross income and whether you filed as single, married or head of household. We can’t say for sure that the figures above follow the IRS’ internal rubric, which were based on this handy calculator that The Washington Post put together. 

That could shed some light, however, on what you might get if the HEALS Act were to pass as is.

What’s the biggest check your family could expect?

Depending on how negotiations shake out, the total amount your family gets could change. Here’s a look at the caps put in place by all three main proposals so far.

CARES Act: With the CARES Act from March, which is now expired, there was no limit on the number of children who could count as dependents as long as they were under 17 and claimed by the taxpayer on their 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.

Heroes Act: The Heroes Act, which has never been taken up or nixed by the Senate, would place a cap of $6,000 for households of five or more. Essentially, it proposed $1,200 for each adult and dependent with a maximum of three dependents per family. 

HEALS Act: Similar to the CARES Act, the HEALS Act 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 in order to qualify for the $500 payment.

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How much stimulus money you could get in August is still undecided.


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How will the IRS send you your payment?

While there’s not an official plan yet, it’s likely that receiving this second stimulus check will work much like it did the first time around. If you filed taxes in 2018 or 2019 and included direct deposit information, it’s likely you can receive your check as a direct deposit. If not, you could get it in the mail as a paper check. Under the CARES Act, some people were also sent money in the form of a prepaid “economic impact payment” card, or EIP. 

When will Congress come to a decision on the stimulus check?

The two sides are now working out the details of the new proposal, with an eye on Aug. 7, a deadline Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell set earlier this summer. In anticipation of a deal, both the House and the Senate have pushed back the start of their respective recesses to extend the current sessions in Washington so they can take a vote. Here’s more on the timeline, including when the IRS could send the first checks.

If you’re still waiting for your first stimulus check, here are 10 possible reasons for a delaywhat you can do if you think your payment is lost or has fallen through the cracks and if you could receive two refund checks from the IRS.

Julie Snyder and Shelby Brown contributed to this report.

source: cnet.com