$1,400 stimulus check versus $600 and $1,200 checks: New important details to know...
While it's not a done deal, the Senate changed up some details for the third stimulus check, making it different from the first two direct payments.
The Senate passed the $1.9 trillion relief bill, but not without making some vital changes first. Before the third stimulus checks can be processed and sent out, the House must accept the new changes that could affect your $1,400 payment. Joe Biden's administration hopes the payments can be made starting this month.
If approved, this would be the third round of coronavirus relief checks issued by the federal government in one year. Each round has revealed different priorities for lawmakers, who've remained divided on every aspect of the checks, including whether they should exist.
The new payment is more than twice as much as the second check per person and could also bring families more money in other ways. Oppositely, it also has the strictest income limits yet, resulting in fewer people qualifying for a check (here's who would qualify.) Below, we compare the first $1,200 and second $600 payments to where the third check stands now, including a massive change to dependents. This story has been updated with new information.
Stimulus check differences and how they affect you
Each round of stimulus payments has varied on the maximum amount per person and how many people qualify to receive the check. The second check was the least generous on both counts, and took 9 months to become law. However, it also made some groups of people eligible who weren't before.
The new check would change the game again, becoming more generous in some spheres, as with dependents and families with mixed-status citizenship, while also finding its way to fewer people than perhaps even the second check -- at least based on a new stimulus check formula.
How do The Checks Stack Up?
For more information, here's what you need to know about stimulus checks today, including how to claim any missing stimulus money on your 2020 tax return, how tax season affects the third check and how to track your tax refund online. Visit our News & Updates page or our 2020 Tax Season F.A.Q.s
