Second Stimulus Check: What It Would Mean for Your 2021 Taxes

While there’s been frustratingly little progress on a second stimulus check, the prior $1,200 payments that went out as part of the CARES Act have some questioning how the money will impact their tax filings in 2021. It turns out, those checks qualified as a rebate based on your latest filings with the IRS, meaning no one will owe taxes on it.

It could mean more money in next year’s tax refund to those who didn’t get their full amount this year. “If you receive too much of a rebate check, you won’t have to pay anything back. If you receive too little, you will get more back in the form of a tax credit,” tax expert Lisa Green-Lewis told CNBC. She also speculated that underpayments resulted from those who missed filing their information by certain dependents — which has resulted in some $500 checks going out recently.

As far as the current stimulus checks, negotiations fell apart on Friday, which resulted in President Donald Trump signing a questionable executive order that aims to address some of the provisions that would have been included in the proposed HEALS Act. This plan includes another $1,200 payment. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Monday that “the White House is still motivated” to include another stimulus payment. “The president would love to see the direct payments to Americans, the president would love to see the school funding. There are several items we would like to see happen.”

On Monday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced that the legislative body will not hold any floor votes until Sept. 14. However, members will remain on a 24-hour notice to return to Washington D.C. in case they can reach a deal concerning another stimulus package. Hoyer also issued a statement about this news in which he explained that while the House of Representatives has made efforts to enact economic relief legislation, and calling out Republicans that have “refused to act.”

“Over the past two months, the House has taken extraordinary action on a range of issues important to the American people,” the statement read. “By following a new format of first allowing time for committees to meet and complete their work, followed by time for the House to be in session holding votes, we were able to complete our work safely by minimizing the number of people in the Capitol complex at any one time.”