Coronavirus $1,200 Stimulus Check: How to See If You’re Eligible and How Much You Could Get

The CARES Act $2 trillion stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump on Friday includes payments of up to $1,200 to help American taxpayers during the coronavirus outbreak. The checks are expected to arrive within three weeks, although not everyone is eligible to receive them. How much you receive is based on your adjusted gross income from your 2019 federal tax filing, or 2018 tax filing if you have not filed your 2019 taxes yet.

It is expected that nine of 10 households will receive a check, reports CNET. Those who qualify include single residents with an adjusted gross income under $99,000; anyone who files as the head of a household earning less than $146,000; and anyone who files jointly without children and earn under $198,000. The Washington Post shared an easy-to-use calculator to determine if you are eligible.

Households will receive $1,200 checks for adults and $500 for children. However, children 17 or 18 years old will not receive a check, reports CBS News. Some college students between 19 and 23, adults who can be claimed as dependents, those without a green card, estates and people who have not filed 2018 an 2019 tax returns are not eligible for the stimulus check.

Individual taxpayers will receive the full $1,200 if your adjusted gross income is under $75,000. If it is over that, the number will decrease $5 for every $100 in income. Again, if you are earning over $99,000 though, you will not receive any check, as the point of the program is to help middle to low-income Americans.

On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CBS’ Face The Nation the checks will be direct deposited into bank accounts within three weeks. He could not give an exact timetable, though.

“We expect that within three weeks, that people who have direct deposit with information with us will see those direct deposits into their bank accounts, and we will create a web-based system for people where we don’t have their direct deposit, they can upload it so that they can get the money immediately as opposed to checks in the mail,” Mnuchin explained.

Since businesses began closing across the country while Americans stay home to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, the economy has been in trouble. Last week, jobless claims hit a record 3.3 million. Mnuchin predicted the stimulus package will be “enormously successful in stabilizing” the economy.

“This money is going to go into the economy very quickly. It is going to help American workers very, very quickly,” he told Face The Nation. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take to kill this virus. I do know we will kill this virus, and when we do, I have great confidence that the U.S. economy will come roaring back.”

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