The American Bailout Plan Act of 2021, enacted in early March 2021, provides Economic Impact Payments of up to $1,400 for eligible individuals or $2,800 for married couples filing jointly, plus $1,400 for each qualified dependent, including adult dependents.
The plan increases direct financial relief to U.S. families by providing payments of $1,400 for all qualified dependents in a family, rather than just qualified children under the age of 17.
According to the White House, the $1,400 per person checks are designed especially for single individuals earning less than $75,000 a year, heads of household earning less than $112,500, and married couples filing jointly who are earning less than $150,000.
Do I Qualify for A Stimulus Check?
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Qualifying couples can receive a maximum stimulus payment of $2,800. However, joint returns for mixed-status families with only one valid identification number – this is defined as the Social Security number used when filing the tax return – only get up to $1,400.
Joint returns without valid identification numbers for either spouse are excluded.
Individuals earning up to $80,000 will receive partial payments, but married couples earning more than $160,000 per annum are not eligible for this program.
Those with dependents will receive $1,400 per person, including college students and seniors claiming as dependents.
The Inland Revenue Service (IRS) does not consider stimulus checks to be taxable income, which means you do not have to report the money on your federal income tax return or pay income tax on your stimulus check.
You should also note that if you owe taxes, you may still qualify for a stimulus payment because the IRS does not use it to offset federal or state tax debts as it normally does with tax refunds.
How Do I Claim My Payment if I Have Not Received It?
The status of your payment can be tracked on the IRS website portal under the ‘Get My Payment’ section.
Additional updates will be posted on the IRS website, along with a factsheet that will have answers to common questions.