The Biden administration is likely to send out $1,400 covid-19 relief checks to US citizens within a few days. The last hurdle before the relief payouts is for Congress to finalize the details and President Joe Biden to sign it. In a mammoth stimulus to the US economy, as many as 160 million households are expected to get the payments.
Among them, some US citizens will get the payout as soon as this week. It all depends, however, on whether the House of Representatives passes the $1.9 trillion bill on Tuesday.
The massive US handout will also be a booster shot for the world economy, which is still reeling from the economic fallout of the pandemic.
"Treasury stands ready to implement the direct payment check program as soon as the American Rescue Plan is passed," a US Treasury spokeswoman said, according to Reuters. The COVID-19 relief package is called 'The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021'.
Earlier on Saturday, an evenly split US Senate narrowly passed a $1.9-trillion Covid-19 relief bill after a marathon overnight session that continued until midday. The bill has to to go back to the House for another vote, and then sent to the president, who will sign it into law.
90% of US Households to Get Money
According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, as many as 90 percent of American households are eligible to get the Covid-19 relief paychecks.
The new measures include funding to directly combat the pandemic, direct relief to households, as well as support for hard-hit small businesses and communities. U.S. residents who have a valid social security number are eligible to get the stimulus checks.
Who Will Get What?
Under the new bill, individuals earning up to $75,000, and couples who make up to $150,000 would get $1,400 checks per person. However, payments for those making $80,000 and couples earning $160,000 is halted under the provisions.
Parents can receive up to $1,400 for each of their dependent children. The bill also provides for child tax credit of up to $3,000 per child, or $3,600 for each kid under the age of six. This will be paid in monthly installments of $250 or $300 from July through December.
The unemployed will get a $300 weekly federal unemployment benefit through September. People in jails, and those with non-citizen spouses as well as the kin of those who died in 2020 will also be able to get the payments.
Who Will Not Receive the Money?
Those individuals who make $80,000 or more are ruled out of the bounty. Also ineligible are heads of households who make $120,000 or more and married couples who earn $160,000 or more. However, what is important to note is that the upper limit is significantly lower this time around, meaning that those who missed out on the relief checks last time are likely to get it. In the first stimulus payout, the limits were $99,000 for individuals, $136,500 for head of household and $198,000 for married couple.
IRS Working Hard to Fast Track Payment
The IRS, which has more than 70,000 employees will handle the core task of the direct payouts. It took more two weeks for the first covid-19 relief payment of $1,200 to be paid out last April. In December last year, when President Donald Trump signed the second stimulus bill, the agency started sending out checks of $900 within two days.
