WASHINGTON (AP) – Along with daylight saving time, this weekend could bring thicker bank balances for some Americans.
Treasury and Internal Revenue Service officials said Friday that processing of the new round of stimulus payments has already begun, with the goal of having the first payments appear in bank accounts this weekend.
President Joe Biden signed the new $ 1.9 trillion bailout package on Thursday, the day after it won its final passage in the House of Representatives. The measure provides payments to eligible individuals of up to $ 1,400, with payments to an eligible family of four of $ 5,600.
“The payments will be automatically delivered to the taxpayer, even if the IRS continues to issue regular tax refunds,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement.
It is estimated that 85% of Americans are eligible for the payments and the goal is to get millions of payments paid out in the coming weeks.
The relief measure, which passed party line votes in both the House and Senate, includes the third round of payments for the economic impact. The first round that passed last spring yielded up to $ 2,000 per person, and a second round of payments in December yielded up to $ 600 per person.
The latest package passed without votes from Republicans, who objected to the size of the measure, arguing that it was unnecessary given the signs that the economy is starting to recover.
Then-President Donald Trump called payments under the $ 900 billion emergency relief bill passed in December, and Biden agreed, bringing the total for one person in the new package to $ 1,400.
The latest round of relief payments will earn households $ 1,400 for every adult, child, and adult, such as college students or elderly relatives. Adult dependents were not eligible for payments in the previous two rounds of payment.
Payments begin to decrease for a person once the adjusted gross income exceeds $ 75,000 and go to zero once the income reaches $ 80,000. Payment starts to drop for married couples when income exceeds $ 150,000 and goes to zero at $ 160,000.
Officials said that starting Monday, people will be able to view the “Get My Payment” tool on the IRS.gov website to track their own payments.
Taxpayers who have provided bank details with the IRS receive the direct deposits, while others receive paper checks or debit cards in the mail.
Officials said that in the interest of speeding up tax deductions, the IRS will use the latest available tax return, either the 2019 return filed last year or the 2020 return due by April 15.
If a person’s job situation changed last year as a result of the pandemic, which resulted in millions of people losing jobs or being forced to work fewer hours, officials said the IRS will adjust the amount of the new impact payments after filing for 2020. has been submitted. and arrange for an additional payment if needed. Officials said those adjustments will be made automatically by the IRS for people who have already filed their 2020 returns.
Officials said they wanted to handle payments this way rather than wait for the 2020 tax return to be filed in the interest of faster payments to taxpayers.