New stimulus check isn’t done yet: Here’s how your eligibility might change if a relief bill passes

Republican and Democratic lawmakers were no closer to sealing a deal for another relief package by Saturday, when President Donald Trump made his bid to intervene by signing three memoranda and one new executive order. Now, it will take serious Congressional compromise for eligible people to get a second stimulus payment for as much as $1,200, along with other potential benefits.

Both sides of the aisle agree that a second direct payment should happen, though the Democratic-authored Heroes Act (which passed in the House of Representatives in May) provides more than three times the financial assistance and broader eligibility requirements than the GOP-authored HEALS Act. 

“We said we’d come down a trillion. You go up a trillion. Meet us halfway and we’ll be able to have an agreement that meets the needs of the American people,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi explained Sunday on Fox News. “We need to come to agreement. We’ve got to meet halfway.”

Here’s how each side’s proposal for the next stimulus bill compares. Keep reading to see if you might fall into the eligibility requirements that are likely to be imposed in a final bill (again, if there is one). This story updates often.

Who would get a stimulus check if the HEALS Act is passed?

There may be continued discussions over stimulus relief in the coming week. If the HEALS Act becomes law, it would largely replicate the payment eligibility set out in the earlier CARES Act, with a new allowance for dependents:

• A single US resident with an adjusted gross income, or AGI, less than $99,000
• A head of a household earning under $146,500
• A couple filing jointly without children and earning less than $198,000
• A dependent of any age

Under the CARES Act, the cutoff to receive a $500 dependent check was age 16 and younger; college students under 24 years old weren’t eligible to receive a check. The Republican proposal would exclude people in prison and people who recently died from qualifying for a check. The bill would also prohibit creditors and banks from seizing the payment to pay debts.

The Heroes Act’s vision for stimulus check eligibility

The Democratic proposal offers broader eligibility parameters in the Heroes Act, which was advanced by the House of Representatives on May 15. Although Senate Republicans and the president oppose the plan, we can look to this bill to see the Democratic position on the upper limits of who might qualify in a broad proposal:

• Individuals who made less than $99,000 according to the adjusted gross income from their 2018 or 2019 taxes (whichever was most recently filed)
• College students, dependents over 17, disabled relatives and taxpayers’ parents
• Families of up to five people, for a cap of $6,000 per family
• SSDI recipients
• People who aren’t US citizens but do file tax returns, pay taxes and otherwise comply with federal tax law using an individual taxpayer identification number instead of a Social Security number

Here’s who didn’t get a stimulus check with the CARES Act

Under the CARES Act, which became law in March, these groups were excluded from receiving the first payment:

• Single taxpayers with an adjusted gross income above $99,000
• Heads of households with an AGI over $136,500
• Married couples with an AGI over $198,000
• Children over 16 and college students under age 24
• Nonresident aliens, as defined by the US government

When will Congress reach a deal on the eligibility requirements?

Right now, the timeline for continued discussions remains up in the air. While Republican and Democratic negotiators have met daily to work out the details of the new stimulus package, the two sides remain far apart. If talks resume and they reach an agreement, the House of Representatives and Senate could still hold votes next week on the bill.

As such, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have pushed back the start of their chambers’ August breaks. After the sides reach an agreement, the stimulus bill won’t take effect until the president signs it into law. 

And while we won’t know for sure until the two sides come together on the next stimulus package, we have a good idea when a check could be sent, if a new bill passes.

For more, here’s what we know about the major proposals for a second stimulus package. We also have information on unemployment insurance, what you can do if you’ve lost your job, if you could receive two refund checks from the IRS and what to know about evictions.

Julie Snyder and Shelby Brown contributed to this report.