Stimulus check update: How much money could you get? It may now change

With the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill now in the Senate’s hands, we’re already noticing details of the third stimulus check changing. For instance, Senate Democrats have lowered the income requirements needed to qualify for the $1,400 payment. This could shake things up for those who are considered “high earners,” changing the amount of money they could get, if any at all. Congress still has a goal to pass the bill before the middle of this month, so anything could change between now and then. For now, we know enough about the proposed Senate guidelines to help you quickly estimate how much stimulus money you may be eligible for.

With all three stimulus checks, the eligibility rules have been adjusted each time, as well as the total amount of the check. We devised a calculator to prevent you from guessing how much you could get — just plug in your individual information to get your personalized estimate. Some of the change factors determining the size of your payment are citizenship, number of dependents, and individual and family income caps.

Also, here’s how you could potentially get a significantly larger third stimulus check, as well as how it’s possible to get less money or even none at all this time. Here’s how a third check arriving during tax time could go. And if you’re one of the millions of Americans who have yet to receive the first or second stimulus check, here’s how to claim it on your 2020 tax return. This story is updated often.

Our third stimulus check calculator can determine your ‘targeted’ $1,400 payment

The Senate is working on the relief bill this week, looking to approve its version of the legislation by the weekend. Senate Democrats have already proposed changing upper income limits for individual taxpayers and families that could result in some who the Senate defines as higher earners no longer qualifying for a payment. The changes would make the third check look different from the first two checks by lowering the reducing that upper cap, above which you’d no longer receive any money. (Here’s our first stimulus check calculator.)

The bill isn’t complete yet, so the Senate could change again how the legislation targets the stimulus money. Our calculator tool will give you an idea of the amount you can expect based on the current Senate changes. The stimulus calculator won’t store or use your data. Since our calculations are based on the most recent House proposal, it could change again before becoming law.

Here’s who would get the full amount, based on your adjusted gross income, or AGI, and when you would completely phase out of receiving a payment, using the new Senate guidelines. As an individual or couple’s income goes up, the size of the partial payment would get smaller. 

Stimulus check proposal for income limits

	Full $1,400 per person maximum (based on AGI)	Not eligible (based on AGI)
Individual taxpayer	Less than $75,000	$80,000 or more
Head of household	Less than $112,500	$120,000 or more
Married couple filing jointly	Less than $150,000	$160,000 or more

How the newest eligibility rules could affect the stimulus check calculations

New with the economic-relief proposal, all dependents would qualify for a $1,400 payment. Also new: The upper income limit is a hard cap. Above the income ceiling, you no longer qualify for any stimulus money, including for your dependents. With the first two checks, you could hit the cap and still receive money for a dependent.

Expanding qualifications to dependents of any age would make approximately 13.5 million more adult dependents count toward their household total, according to The People’s Policy Project. Biden’s proposal also looks to include families with mixed citizenship status; that is, where at least one family member is a US citizen.

Read more: Stimulus money and tax breaks for kids and older adults: Not just a $1,400 check

How much money could you receive with the third payment?

To give you an idea of how much you might expect to receive in a third payment using the income guidelines Congress is considering, we calculated a few scenarios for individuals, heads of households and families in the chart below. You can see how setting a hard upper limit changes your payment, based on the amount of money you could expect.

Payments for different incomes and dependents

	Individual	Head of household	Married couple, filing jointly
AGI of $75,000 and no dependents	$1,400	$1,400	$2,800
AGI of 79,000 and no dependents	$280	$1,400	$2,800
AGI of $90,000 and no dependents	$0	$1,400	$2,800
AGI of $100,000 and no dependents	$0	$1,400	$2,800
AGI of $100,000 and 1 dependent	–	$2,800	$4,200
AGI of $115,000 and 1 dependent	–	$1,867	$4,200
AGI of $120,000 and 1 dependent	–	$0	$4,200
AGI of $130,000 and 1 dependent	–	$0	$4,200
AGI of $100,000 and 2 dependents	–	$4,200	$5,600
AGI of $115,000 and 2 dependents	–	$2,800	$5,600
AGI of $155,000 and 2 dependents	–	$0	$2,800
AGI of $160,000 and 2 dependents	–	$0	$0

For more information on stimulus checks, here’s how to report missing stimulus money to the IRS, what to do if you’re missing any stimulus money and here are the important things to know about stimulus checks and your taxes.