More than eight months after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began distributing the first $1,200 stimulus payments, the second round of stimulus checks is finally on the way. The $900 billion stimulus relief package brought forth in early December was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Sunday, his signature approving another round of direct payments to Americans. With the bill now approved, when can Americans expect their stimulus checks to arrive, and just how much money should they be expecting to receive?
Thankfully, Americans likely won’t have to wait as long to receive their payout as they did with the first round of payments. After the CARES Act was approved by Trump, it took 19 days before the IRS began sending the first payments. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in the months since, has indicated that the agency is much more prepared this time around, and on Dec. 21 he told CNBC people would start seeing checks early this week. While his statement came before Trump stalled on giving the bill his signature, meaning the IRS is unlikely to begin sending checks this week, it seems likely that stimulus check distribution will begin in the coming days. At this time, however, The Treasury Department has not provided a timeline and they did not immediately respond to the Los Angeles Times‘ question on timing.
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Although an exact timeline is not known, it is important to note that the distribution of these second payments will likely follow a similar route as the first payments. This means that those receiving their check via direct deposit will be the first to receive the money. Americans receiving their payout via a physical check in the mail should be expecting to wait a little bit longer.
Another major question lingering on many peoples’ minds is just how much they should be expecting to receive. At this time, the approved bill calls for a $600 payment for those who file their tax returns individually and have adjusted gross income of up to $75,000 or $112,500 for an individual filing as a head of household. Joint filers that earn up to $150,000 in combined adjusted gross income would get $1,200, and dependents are also eligible for the full $600 amount. As with the first round of payments, the amount gradually phases out for higher-income brackets.
While $600 payments are guaranteed, there is also renewed hope for $2,000 checks. Trump had initially stalled signing the bill to issue a request that Congress more than triple the amount of stimulus payments. The House of Representatives on Monday approved a bill to increase payments to $2,000. That bill is now set to move onto the Senate for a vote, though it is unclear if it will have enough support to pass.
