- A $2 trillion economic relief bill was signed into law on Friday, meaning many Americans will soon receive one-time payments of up to $1,200.
- To get a stimulus check from the IRS, you need to have a Social Security number and meet certain adjusted gross income (AGI) thresholds.
- The IRS will disburse the funds according to the direct-deposit information on your latest tax return.
- If you don't normally file a tax return, the IRS will ask you to file a "simple tax return" to provide your filing status, number of dependents, and bank information.
- Read more personal finance coverage.
President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, into law on Friday.
The $2 trillion stimulus package, the largest emergency relief bill in American history, will direct one-time payments, or "recovery rebates," of up to $1,200 to many Americans.
You do not have to sign up to receive a stimulus check. The process is automatic for most Americans who qualify. However, the IRS now says certain people who aren't normally required to file will need to "file a simple tax return" to get their payment.
Here's how to get a stimulus check:
1. Have a Social Security number
To get a stimulus check, you need to have a Social Security number. Nonresident aliens, people without a Social Security number, and adult dependents are not eligible.
2. File a tax return for 2018 or 2019
The size of your stimulus check is based on the adjusted gross income listed on the latest tax return you filed. For most people, that's either this year's tax return or 2018's.
Americans whose adjusted gross income was less than $75,000 will receive the maximum amount: $1,200. Reduced payments are sent to single filers who earned between $75,000 and $99,000, or married filers who earned between $150,000 and $198,000. There's also a $500 payment per child under age 17 for parents in the payment.
Business Insider's Andy Kiersz created the following chart showing how much taxpayers will receive from the stimulus package based on filing status and income.
In order to reach Americans at the lowest income levels, the IRS will be asking people to file a "simple tax return" even if they normally aren't required to file.
"Low-income taxpayers, senior citizens, Social Security recipients, some veterans and individuals with disabilities who are otherwise not required to file a tax return will not owe tax," the IRS says. The simple tax return will only ask for filing status, number of dependents, and bank information so that these Americans will be able to receive payments. Instructions on how to file a return will be posted here.
3. Check your direct-deposit information
The IRS will disburse the funds according to the direct-deposit information provided on the last tax return you filed.
It's unclear which date the Treasury will use as a cutoff for processing these payments, but if you haven't filed your 2019 tax return yet and want to ensure the IRS uses your latest income figure and that your stimulus check gets deposited in the right account, file as soon as possible.
Nicole Kaeding, the vice president of policy promotion and an economist at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, tweeted shortly after the relief bill passed in the Senate that about 60% of tax filers provided direct-deposit information on their returns last year.
4. Provide updated bank information to the IRS
The IRS won't be sending out paper checks after all. If you didn't provide bank information on your last tax return, you'll have the opportunity to do so online soon.
"In the coming weeks, Treasury plans to develop a web-based portal for individuals to provide their banking information to the IRS online, so that individuals can receive payments immediately as opposed to checks in the mail," the IRS says.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a White House briefing that the agency hoped to get direct-deposit payments to people as soon as three weeks from the passage of the bill. You don't have to do anything but wait for the deposit to show up in your bank account.
This post was updated on March 30, 2020 to include new information from the IRS.
- Read more on managing your money in this tumultuous time:
- 3 options for people struggling to pay their mortgage during the global health crisis
- 4 reasons to get disability insurance, even if you don't think you need it
- If you've been financially impacted by the coronavirus, you may be able to pause payments on these 8 bills
- How to get a stimulus check from the US government, which could pay up to $1,200 if you qualify
- In response to the coronavirus, credit card issuers like Amex and Capital One are letting customers skip payments without interest and more
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