Congress is completely on track to approve the next stimulus check in the coming weeks. But, it needs to be understood that everything- from how much money will be dished out to who qualifies- is not entirely assured. The Senate has been one of the first institutions to bring out a significant change in the direct payment that forms a crucial part of the bill worth $1.9 trillion.
Since this doesn’t seem to be the last change that the legislation might have for the stimulus check, it is expected that they would bring out more changes in the amendment that would take place over the next few days. It needs to be kept in mind that any Senator can put forward newer changes to the existing relief bill.
Interestingly, the stimulus check was in the news even before the proposed changes came to the fore regarding the requirements of the check. What makes the scenario even more confusing is that the USA is currently in tax season- which entails that the consumer’s payment would be directly connected to the IRS.
As luck would have it, the IRS is completely submerged with more and more problems as they are already looking out at the processing claims for the stimulus money that was owed in the first couple of checks. The entire process would be meted out through the federal tax forms.
If this seems a lot confusing, you definitely need to look at the stimulus check details before the ball is rolled for the payment gateway.
The Senate Is Working On The $,1,400 Stimulus Checks – And Making Changes
It has been reported that the Senate didn’t take much time before putting in changes to the stimulus check that was approved by the House back on the 26th of February. They had proposed at least one major adjustment that would fit into the income requirements for the third stimulus check cashed in at $1,400.
The House also put up an upper cap on the income which would work towards cutting off payments made for higher earners. Under this plan, any individual with an AGI of over $100,000 every year would definitely be excluded from any form of governmental payment. Also, any household head earning more than $150,000 every single year and couples grossing over $200,000 per year would also see a much higher upper limit to qualify for the stimulus check.
The Senate brought out these upper-income limits in order to exclude high earners from receiving money. Under the plan of the Senate, most of the single taxpayers would definitely be over the income limit with an $80,000 AGI. Heads of households would be stopped at $120,000, while those who are married and have put up a file together would be disavowed after $160,000.
Under this bill, close to 297 million have already secured their payment as mentioned under the Institution of Taxation and Economy Policy. Under the plan of the Senate, almost 17 million people would not be allowed to gather the governmental plan- the other 280 million people would.
How Democrats Will Speed Approval Of The Third Round Of Payments Through Congress
Most of the Congressional Democrats have already been clamoring to bring in a mid-March date before the pandemic-assistance programs expire. This includes the expanded unemployment benefits which are about to end soon. In order to come around and meet this aggressive deadline, most of the Democrats have been using budget reconciliation to glean maximum efficiency out of the plan.
This very process allows the members of both the Houses (especially the Democrats) to careen through the opposition to the legislation, but there will always be stricter rules about what they can put in the stimulus check and the budget bill. To put up an example, the demand of the Senate staff to increase the minimum wage would be opposed by the legislation, and rightly so- under the bill guidelines.
Tax Season 2020 Is Important For A Stimulus Check, Even If You’re Not Usually Required To File
This year carries an extra burden with tax filing for those who have qualified for the first, second, and hopefully, the third stimulus check. And, this burden comes extra- it doesn’t matter if you are required to actually put in the taxes or not. The IRS, using the federal tax systems, has decided things similar to how much money would be provided under the stimulus check, and how quickly it would be processed.
In the event that you end up getting a catch-up payment, you would first need to set up, with the IRS, a direct deposit. The third stimulus check definitely looks like it could either be based on the tax filing of either 2019, or 2020- which definitely complicates the situation even further.
Here’s what you should keep in mind- in the event that you haven’t yet received your first and/or second payment, or any amount is missing, the IRS will simply use your taxes from 2020 to reconcile the differences. But this will be possible only if you are able to file a Recovery Rebate Credit which will simply be a part of your tax return.
As usual, this will also be applicable to the non-filers- ones wouldn’t necessarily have to file their taxes. And if these complications seem easy, here’s one more- the IRS might just decide to delay the deadline filing for this year.
Also, there is a possibility that you might not have received your funds, and yet the IRS has stated that you did. In this event, you may have to establish a payment trace which would be more useful than the rebate credit of the IRS.
A Third Stimulus Check Could Go Even Faster Than The First Two Did
Most of the Congressional Democrats have already been pushing in for the third round of payments- something that they need to go through before March ends. The IRS will primarily opt for putting out the stimulus check early if the bill becomes law on the 14th of March. This could be made possible due to the new system in place- which is used for processing the payments.
More Types Of People Could Qualify For A Third Stimulus Check – But Fewer Could, Too
The Senate has expanded the requirements for who qualifies under a stimulus check now. And the list will include around two groups that were left out of the previous round of payments- dependents irrespective of age, and citizenship with mixed-status.
On the other hand, the Stimulus check might not be a possibility for those with a reasonably higher income- as stated above. The American Citizens still await the future of the Stimulus Check and what is in store for them in the long run.
