law passed by congress for continued covid relief that includes a second round of stimulus checks.
The payment is worth up to $600 for each qualifying adult and dependent child in the household. for example, a family of four would receive up to $2,400.
click on any of the following links to go to a section:
- eligibility
- getting your second stimulus check
- troubleshooting
Eligibility is based primarily on four requirements:
1. Income: The income requirements to receive the full payment are the same as for the first stimulus check. No minimum income is needed to qualify for the payment. Households with adjusted gross income (AGI) of up to $75,000 for individuals (up to $150,000 if married filing jointly and up to $112,500 if head of household) will receive the full payment. this stimulus payment begins to phase out for people with higher incomes. the maximum income limit of the second stimulus check is lower than that of the first stimulus check. singles who earned more than $87,000 ($174,000 if married filing jointly and $124,500 if head of household) in 2019 are not eligible for the second stimulus check.
See the chart below to compare the income requirements for the first and second stimulus checks.
2. Social Security Number: This requirement differs from the original eligibility for the first stimulus check. originally under the first stimulus check, if you were married filing jointly, both spouses needed valid social security numbers (ssns). If one of the spouses had an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), both spouses were not eligible for the stimulus check. for married military couples, the spouse with an ssn could still receive the stimulus check for himself, but not for the other spouse with an itin.
For the second stimulus check, married couples filing jointly may qualify for the second stimulus check, even if one spouse has an itin. A spouse with a social security number and children with a social security number or adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN) can receive the payment. If one spouse is an active member of the military, then both spouses are eligible for a stimulus check, even if only one spouse has an SSN and the other spouse has an ITIN.
The expanded ssn rules for the second stimulus check are retroactive and now apply to the first stimulus check. If you were denied your first stimulus payment because neither you nor your spouse had SSS, you can claim your first stimulus check as the Recovery Refund Tax Credit on your 2020 tax return or use getctc.org if you don’t have a filing. requirement. see the table and examples below for a more detailed explanation of how it works.
old rule: if one of the spouses does not have an ssn, both spouses cannot receive the stimulus.
current rule: same as the second stimulus.
If one of the spouses does not have an ssn, the spouse with an ssn and qualifying children with an ssn or atin can receive the stimulus.
Children (under 17) can only receive the stimulus if at least one parent has an ssn.
old rule: if a spouse does not have an ssn, only spouse with an ssn can receive a stimulus.
current rule: same as the second stimulus.
If one of the spouses does not have a ssn,both spouses can receive the stimulus (including the spouse without a ssn). qualifying children (under the age of 17) with an ssn or atin can also receive the stimulus.
examples
previous rules of the first stimulus check:
john and mary are married and filed their taxes together. mary has an ssn and john does not. john and mary are not eligible for the first stimulus check and lose $2,400.
second stimulus check rules:
john and mary are married and filed their taxes together. mary has an ssn and john does not. mary is eligible for a second $600 stimulus check even though john is not eligible. Since the SSN rule change is retroactive, Mary can also get her first $1,200 stimulus check as a catch-up refund credit when she and John file their 2020 taxes.
old rules of the first and second stimulus check for military taxpayers:
If Mary is an active duty member of the military, under the first stimulus rules above, Mary could claim the $1,200 payment for herself, even though John did not have a social security number. under the second stimulus rules, because mary is an active duty member of the military and has a social security number, john and mary can each receive a second stimulus payment of $600, for a total of $1,200 for the couple.
3. dependency: The dependency requirement is the same as the first stimulus check. cannot be claimed as a dependent of another person on a tax return to get the second stimulus check. there is no age requirement for the stimulus check. children must be under 17 years of age to receive the additional payment for them.
4. Citizenship or Residency: Citizenship or residency requirements are the same as for the first stimulus check. You must be a US citizen. uu. citizen, permanent resident, or qualified resident alien.
The IRS has declared that people who died in 2020 or 2021 are eligible to receive the first and second stimulus payments. If they did not receive the stimulus payments or did not receive the full amounts for which they are eligible, spouses or other family members can file a 2020 federal income tax return and claim it as part of their tax refund.
If you are incarcerated, you are eligible to receive both your first and second stimulus checks if you meet the other eligibility requirements.
Both the first and second stimulus checks cannot be reduced to pay federal or state debt. Unlike the first stimulus check, your second stimulus check cannot be reduced if you owe past-due child support payments and are protected from garnishment by creditors and debt collectors.
If you use direct deposit and owe bank overdraft fees, the bank may deduct them from your payment.
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If you are claiming the payments as part of your 2020 tax refund (known as the Recovery Refund Tax Credit), the payments are no longer protected from back child support payments, creditors and debt collectors, and other federal or state payments. debt you owe (see irs qe2 and qe3 frequently asked questions). In other words, if you receive your first and second stimulus checks as part of your tax refund instead of direct checks, it may be reduced.
Like the first stimulus checks, the second stimulus checks do not count as income when determining your eligibility for means-tested programs like snap, tanf, or medicaid. stimulus checks are not counted as income for the eitc or unemployment benefits.
Like the first stimulus checks, the second stimulus checks don’t count as income, so you don’t have to pay taxes on them. you will not be asked to return anything.
not. For both the first and second stimulus checks, at least one adult must have a social security number for the household to claim the stimulus checks. that adult with the ssn and any qualifying children with the ssn will receive the stimulus checks.
You don’t need to do anything if:
- has filed a tax return for tax year 2019.
- is a recipient of social security, including social security disability insurance (ssdi), railroad retiree. or are a beneficiary of supplemental security insurance (ssi) and veterans affairs (va).
- successfully registered for the first stimulus check online using the irs non-filers tool or submitted a simplified tax return that has been processed by the irs.
irs should have automatically sent your payment. all second stimulus checks were issued before January 15, 2021. If you did not receive a second stimulus check by that date (mailed checks may take longer to deliver), you can claim your second stimulus check as the Recovery Refund Tax Credit on your 2020 tax return or use getctc.org (available through November 15, 2021) if you don’t have a filing requirement .
The government began sending direct deposit payments on December 28, 2020. Paper checks were sent beginning December 30, 2020.
Payments are automatically sent to:
- eligible individuals who filed a 2019 tax return.
- social security recipients, including social security disability insurance (ssdi), railroad retirees and supplemental security (ssi), and veterans affairs (va) beneficiaries.
- individuals who successfully registered for their first stimulus check online using the irs non-filers tool or who filed a simplified tax return that has been processed by the irs
There is no action you need to take to get your second stimulus check. People who provided their banking information with the IRS should have received their stimulus checks via direct deposit. Social Security and Veterans Affairs (VA) recipients who received the first payment via direct express should have received the second payment the same way.
The IRS sent paper checks or prepaid debit cards to people who didn’t provide their banking information. payments sent by mail may be delivered in a different format than the first stimulus check.
all second stimulus checks were issued before January 15, 2021. if you did not receive a second stimulus check by that date (mailed checks may take longer to deliver), you can claim your second stimulus check as a recovery tax credit refund on your 2020 tax return or use getctc.org if you don’t have a filing requirement.
all second stimulus checks were issued before January 15, 2021. if you did not receive a second stimulus check by that date (mailed checks may take longer to deliver), you can claim your second stimulus check as a recovery tax credit refund on your 2020 tax return or use getctc.org (available through November 15, 2021) if you don’t have a filing requirement.
You can request a follow-up of your stimulus check. You should only request a payment follow-up if you received the IRS 1444-b notice showing that your second stimulus check was issued or if your IRS account shows your payment amount and you have not received your second stimulus check.
Learn more about requesting payment tracking here.
You can get your first and second stimulus check as part of your tax refund after you file a 2020 federal tax return or use getctc.org (available through Nov. 15, 2021) if you don’t have a requirement. presentation.
You can file a tax return even if you don’t have a filing requirement to get other tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit.
all second stimulus checks were issued before January 15, 2021. if you did not receive a second stimulus check by that date (mailed checks may take longer to deliver), you can claim your second stimulus check as a recovery tax credit refund on your 2020 tax return or use getctc.org (available through November 15, 2021) if you don’t have a filing requirement.
if you are required to file taxes:
the deadline to file your 2020 tax return was May 17, 2021. the deadline for the extension of the tax return is October 15, 2021. many tax filing software programs close after this date. If you can find an online tax filing program that still accepts 2020 tax returns, you can file a tax return to get your stimulus checks even though the deadline has passed.
If you don’t owe taxes, there is no penalty for filing late. If you owe taxes, you may be subject to penalties and fines for failing to report or pay taxes. The government may reduce your tax refund to pay for taxes you owe and other federal and state debts.
For more information about your options if you think you owe taxes, read “filing late taxes” and “what to do if I owe taxes but can’t pay them.”
if you are not required to declare taxes:
The deadline to use getctc.org is November 15, 2021. You can get the recovery refund credit using getctc.org, a simplified tax filing portal for non-taxpayers. getctc is an irs-approved service created by code for america in partnership with the white house and the u.s. Treasury Department. You can use the portal even if you’re not signing up for child tax credit advance payments.
If you didn’t file a 2019 tax return, then the IRS didn’t send your second stimulus check automatically. instead, if you’re eligible for a payment, you can claim the stimulus check on your 2020 tax return as a recovery refund credit or use getctc.org (available through June 15). November 2021) if you do not have a filing requirement.
Unfortunately, if your second stimulus check is sent to an account that is closed or no longer active, the IRS will not mail the payment back to you. instead, if you’re eligible for a payment, you can claim the stimulus check on your 2020 tax return as a recovery refund credit or use getctc.org (available through Nov. 15, 2021) if you don’t have a requirement. of presentation.
all second stimulus checks were issued before January 15, 2021. if you did not receive a second stimulus check by that date (mailed checks may take longer to deliver), you can claim your second stimulus check as the recovery refund tax credit on your 2020 tax return or use getctc.org (available through November 15, 2021) if you don’t have a filing requirement.
Most likely, the IRS was unable to process your 2019 tax return or the information you submitted to the IRS Non-Filer Tool in time to issue your second stimulus check.
all second stimulus checks were issued before January 15, 2021. if you did not receive a second stimulus check by that date (mailed checks may take longer to deliver), you can claim your second stimulus check as the recovery refund tax credit on your 2020 tax return or use getctc.org (available through November 15, 2021) if you don’t have a filing requirement.
If you didn’t receive your first stimulus check in 2020, you can still claim the payment as a Recovery Refund Tax Credit on your 2020 tax return or use getctc.org (available through Nov. 15, 2021) if you haven’t. I don’t have a filing requirement.
If you need help claiming your first and second payments as a recovery refund tax credit on your 2020 tax return, you can:
- see the free tax return page for free filing resources. contact your local volunteer tax assistance (vita) or the aarp foundation tax help site for free tax help from an irs-certified volunteer.
- visit getctc.org (available until November 15, 2021) if you are not required to file taxes to submit your information to the IRS to obtain the missing stimulus checks with the help of certified IRS volunteers. is also available in Spanish.
All information on this site is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. the budget center & Policy Priorities is not responsible for how you use this information. seek out a tax professional for personal tax advice.