Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are weighing the possibility of sending more stimulus checks. While those negotiations could take weeks, there is something you can do now: Make sure you have filed your federal tax returns on which those payments are based.
If you’re like most Americans, you are probably watching Capitol Hill closely to see if new relief legislation will include another round of stimulus checks.
To ensure you get that money, you would also be wise to do something else – file your federal tax returns, if you haven’t done so already, experts say.
The IRS extended the federal income tax filing deadline to July 15 from April 15 this year due to the unprecedented challenges posed by the coronavirus.
At the same time, the IRS worked to deploy millions of one-time checks of up to $1,200 per individual or $2,400 per married couple, plus $500 per child under 17.
Now, legislators are poised to consider a second round of payments after House Democrats passed a bill that calls for another set of checks.
The new proposal also calls for checks of $1,200 per individual who earns up to $75,000 or $2,400 for couples making up to $150,000. Those payments are reduced for income above those levels and ultimately phase out completely at $99,000 for individuals and $198,000 for married couples.
But Democrats want to sweeten the payments for dependents by increasing them to $1,200 for a maximum of three per family. In addition, children 17 and up and non-citizens would also be eligible for both the first and second payments, if the proposal goes through.
But those terms are subject to change, based on what lawmakers in the Senate sign off on.
