Second stimulus check requirement: Proof that Democrats, Republicans agree on new qualification

When the Democratic-led House of Representatives passed a new coronavirus relief bill on Thursday night, it confirmed that Republicans and Democrats agree on more about a second stimulus check than not, including a change to the payment qualifications that could get your family more money with a second check. (You can even calculate that amount here.)

What’s the big shift? A wider definition of who counts as a dependent is the same in the House’s scaled-back proposal, Heroes 2.0, as it is in the Republican-authored HEALS proposal. The revised Heroes Act, however, is unlikely to become law. HEALS didn’t pass the Senate.

However, the agreement shines a light on the ongoing negotiations between the administration’s Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, amidst the sudden news of President Donald Trump’s hospitalization as a result of COVID-19. 

While we keep a close eye on the situation, we wanted to keep you informed of the four different priority groups in the event that a second round of direct payments does occur. And here’s how the IRS defines an adult in terms of stimulus checks. We regularly update this story.

Read more: What do stimulus checks have to do with your annual tax return? Everything

Will I qualify for the second stimulus check?

It’s likely that if a second stimulus check emerges, it’ll follow many of the guidelines from the CARES Act that governed the first check, but draw some changes from the revised Heroes Act and HEALS Act proposals, neither of which is law.

Who could qualify for a second stimulus check

Qualifying group	Likely to be covered by the final bill
Individuals	An AGI of less than $99,000 (Same as CARES)
Head of household	An AGI of less than $146,500 (Same as CARES)
Couple filing jointly	An AGI less than $198,000 (Same as CARES)
Dependents of any age	As defined by your tax filing (HEALS proposal; and revised Heroes Act)
US citizens living abroad	Yes, same as CARES
Citizens of US territories	Likely, with payments handled by each territory’s tax authority (CARES)
SSDI and tax nonfilers	Likely, but with an extra step to file (more below)
Disqualified group	Unlikely to be covered by the final bill
Noncitizens who pay taxes	Proposed in Heroes Act, unlikely to pass in Senate
Incarcerated people	Excluded under CARES Act
People who owe child support	Included in Heroes proposal, but excluded under CARES

What do my taxes have to do with my eligibility?

For most people, taxes and stimulus checks are tightly intertwined. For example, the most important factor in setting income limits is adjusted gross income, or AGI, which determines how much of the $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for married couples you could receive if you meet the other requirements.

Our stimulus check calculator can show you how much money you could potentially expect from a second check based on your most recent tax filing. Read below for your eligibility if you don’t typically file taxes.

Additional dependents could count toward your family’s total sum

Not enough dependents were eligible for any money at all under the CARES Act, Republicans and Democrats both agree. Dependents aged 16 and younger were allotted $500 as part of the family payment, but new proposals from both sides of the aisle want to expand the definition of a dependent to include people regardless of age — that means college students and adult dependents.

The new Democratic proposal (the revised Heroes Act) and the Republican HEALS Act would provide $500 for each dependent you claim on your taxes no matter the age, with no specified cap on the number of dependents. That’s a change from the original Democratic proposal to extend $1,200 each, for up to three dependents, so a family of five people could receive a maximum of $6,000.

An extra step nonfilers may need to take

People who weren’t required to file a federal income tax return in either 2018 or 2019 may still be eligible to receive the first stimulus check under the CARES Act. If that guideline doesn’t change for a second stimulus check, this group would qualify again. Here are reasons you might not have been required to file:

• You’re over 24, not claimed as a dependent and your income is less than $12,200.
• You’re married filing jointly and together your income is less than $24,400.
• You have no income.
• You receive federal benefits, such as Social Security or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). See below for more on SSDI.

With the first stimulus check, nonfilers needed to provide the IRS with some information before they could receive their checks. The IRS is reaching out to 9 million Americans who may fall in this category but have not requested their payment to notify them they may be due a payment.

Could SSDI recipients get an additional stimulus check?

Those who are part of the Social Security Disability Insurance program also qualify for a check under the CARES Act. Recipients would not receive their payments through their Direct Express card, which the government usually uses to distribute federal benefits, but through a non-Direct Express bank account or through a paper check. SSDI recipients also need to use the IRS’ Non-Filers tool to request a payment for themselves and dependents.

7 groups that were passed over in the first stimulus round 

For the payments authorized under the CARES Act, which became law in March, these groups were excluded:

• Single taxpayers with an AGI over $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.
• People who are incarcerated.
• People who died since the previous tax filing. (Their families may not collect on their behalf and are expected to return the payment.)

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.