Stimulus Check Round 2: When It May Go Out and Who Will Receive It

As the pandemic continues to cause health and economic woes across most of the world, the United States has been moving forward with talks about sending a second round of stimulus checks out to citizens. Like the previous stimulus package, eligible recipients may qualify to receive up to a possible $1,200 payment as well as an additional $500 for dependents.

This second possible payment will again be a one-time payment that will either be directly deposited into a person’s checking or savings account if the IRS has that information on file. If the IRS does not have that information, they will send a check payment to the current address that they have on file.

You may be wondering when this second stimulus check will be sent out. As of right now, it depends on when the federal government will approve of the stimulus package bill. On September 9, a skinny bill failed to pass through the Senate as the bill did not contain a second round of stimulus checks to be given to citizens. Instead, it contained funding for small business aid and enhanced unemployment insurance benefits.

There is still time remaining for a stimulus bill to pass through Congress. The president may also act to provide stimulus checks by issuing a new executive order. Here’s some information regarding who may receive the stimulus benefits and when they may arrive.

Eligibility Requirements

If the second stimulus check requirements fall in line with first set of rules, then the amount a person receives will be based on their adjusted gross income (AGI). So individuals will be capped again at $1,200 and married couples will have payments capped at $2,400. Social security beneficiaries, US citizens living abroad or in a US territory, and people who do not file their taxes because their salaries are too low will again be eligible under this new bill.

There has been some talk about expanding on who will be eligible to receive dependent benefits from the stimulus check payments. When it comes to dependents, many college students and adult dependents were left out of the first stimulus check disbursement because they were over the age of 16. Proposals in the new stimulus package would remove this hurdle to include any dependent. However, there may be a cap on the number of dependents that a person can claim. At the moment, talks are still ongoing on this matter.

Receiving the Second Stimulus Check

There is only a set amount of days for Congress to be in session before the coming election. So the timeline on when the checks will be sent out will be dependent on when both sides of Congress agree on the bill and when the President signs it. A tentative timeline for when checks may be sent is as follows:

• If bill is signed into law on September 23: Sent out the week of September 28

• If bill is signed into law on October 2: Sent out the week of October 12

• If bill is signed into law on October 20: Sent out the week of October 26

A presidential order will speed up the process. If any such order is given by September 18, then the first direct deposits will go out during the week of September 28. Paper checks will be mailed out during the week of October 5 and EIP cards will sent out during the week of October 26.

To ensure that you receive this second round of payments, check that your current bank account information and mailing address is correct with the IRS if you have recently moved or switched banks. Non-filers who are still waiting for their previous stimulus check for their dependents can go to the IRS website to use their tool to receive payments. Non-filers have until September 30 to receive the previous dependent payment.

Things to Do with the Stimulus Check

Receiving another stimulus check can be the extra money that people need to make rent and mortgage payments, pay for childcare, or obtain necessary laptops and computers for virtual school learning. Since no one knows when a viable vaccine will be ready, another option is to save the stimulus check in case a person loses a job or experiences a medical emergency.

If you are part of a debt management program, you may also want to use some of the stimulus check to make additional payments. By making these payments, you can complete the program sooner and be free of your current debts. If you are experiencing financial hardships and are looking for ways to get out of debt, contact one of Century’s Certified Debt Sepcialists who can provide resources and guides that may help you.