WASHINGTON — Since January, Americans have been anxiously waiting for the $1,400 stimulus checks President Joe Biden announced as part of his $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan. The House first passed its version of the “American Rescue Plan” on February 27. The Senate has now passed a different version of the bill, but both contain the direct payments. Now, the House has to take up the bill again before it is signed into law.
In both versions of the bill, individual tax filers making up to $75,000 per year will get $1,400. Couples making up to $150,000 will get $2,800. There will also be $1,400 tacked on for each dependent in the household. In the House version that was passed, the money paid out phases to zero at $100,000 income for individuals and $200,000 for couples. But in the Senate version, it phased out at $80,000 and $160,000, respectively. Because of those changes and other amendments in the Senate version of the bill, the plan goes back to the House. Representatives must vote on the Senate version or the two chambers may hold a conference to come to some middle ground. Roughly 8 million fewer households will get a check under the Senate bill compared with what the House passed, according to an analysis from the Tax Policy Center. When will the third stimulus check be sent? Democrats and Biden want to have the COVID-19 relief plan approved by Sunday, March 14. That's when extra unemployment assistance and other pandemic aid expires. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the House will vote Tuesday on the bill. So it appears Democrats should make that March 14 deadline. During the first round of stimulus checks in April 2020, it took about two weeks for the federal government to start distributing the money. It took around one week for the second round of checks, worth $600, in early January. If the IRS is able to keep with previous timelines, Americans could start receiving stimulus checks from late March to early April. For example, if the stimulus package is signed into law by March 14, based on previous relief plans, the first direct deposits may go out the week of March 22. Another possible complicating factor is that this round of stimulus checks will likely be going out while the IRS is dealing with tax returns.
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