Who is eligible for third stimulus check

UPDATE: The American Rescue Plan became law on Thursday, earlier than expected. Stimulus payments will start being direct deposited in people's bank accounts "as early as this weekend," according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

Table of Contents Show

Who gets a third stimulus check? Who doesn't?
Income limits for the third stimulus check
I think I'm eligible. What do I need to do to get a stimulus check?
More from Money:
Who may be eligible for more money?
Here's how to claim the payment on your tax return

The $1,400 stimulus checks are coming.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package 220 to 211 on Wednesday, following the Senate's lead to all but cement a third round of direct payments to millions of Americans. Though it still needs Biden's signature, the legislation provides for stimulus checks in the amount of $1,400 per person. The president is expected to approve the bill on Friday, and the IRS is ready to distribute most of the aid in the next few weeks.

This is a long time coming, and the details of who makes the cutoff for receiving an Economic Impact Payment have changed several times. Here's what you need to know about eligibility.

Who gets a third stimulus check? Who doesn't?

If you're an American citizen or what's officially called a "resident alien," you're probably eligible for the third stimulus payment. This includes incarcerated people and those living abroad, but not taxpayers above a certain income level. (More on that later.)

In addition, the American Rescue Plan says people will receive "$1,400 multiplied by the number of dependents of the taxpayer for such taxable year." Unlike with the first and second round of payments, there's no age limit for the third stimulus check. College students and adult dependents qualify for the payments, but most won't receive the deposits themselves. Dependent stimulus checks will be sent to the taxpayer who claims them on their returns.

Basically, anyone who's not a nonresident alien or someone else's dependent is eligible to get the direct payment. Deceased people and those without valid Social Security numbers for employment didn't qualify for previous EIPs, either.

Income limits for the third stimulus check

This was a hot topic of debate in Congress, but the income thresholds were ultimately left unchanged for the third stimulus.

If you're a single taxpayer with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $75,000 or less, you'll get the full amount of $1,400. Ditto if you're a head of household with an AGI of $112,500 or less. If you're married filing jointly with an AGI of $150,000 or less, you'll get $2,800.

Over those amounts, the checks decrease, eventually hitting zero.

There are different caps this time around; the third stimulus check phases out faster than previous ones did. People who earn over $80,000, married couples who earn over $160,000 and heads of households who earn over $120,000 will not receive any money, according to The New York Times.

The IRS will use income tax data to calculate how big your stimulus check will be. If you've filed your 2020 return already, it'll take your AGI from that. Otherwise, it'll default to the information on your 2019 return.

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To get your Stimulus Check, the IRS suggests you file your 2021 tax returns immediately.

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I think I'm eligible. What do I need to do to get a stimulus check?

Nothing. The first two rounds were issued automatically, and the third will be, as well.

The fastest way to get your stimulus check is via direct deposit. Without that information, the IRS will mail you either a debit card or paper check. (Unfortunately, there's no way for you to choose or change the delivery method.) You can track your money using the IRS Get My Payment tool.

If you believe you qualify for the third stimulus check but don't receive one — or you believe it's in the wrong amount — there are options. Either the IRS will send you the money you deserve after you file your 2020 taxes or you'll be able to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2021 return, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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Under the terms, individuals could receive up to $1,400 through the third stimulus checks. Couples who file jointly could get up to $2,800. Additionally, eligible dependents could also receive $1,400.

To qualify, you had to be either a U.S. citizen or resident alien in 2021. You also had to have a valid Social Security number, though there are certain exceptions for spouses or dependents.

You also could not have been claimed as someone else's dependent on a 2020 tax return in order to qualify for your own payment.

To be eligible for a full payment, your adjusted gross income could not be above certain thresholds: $75,000 for individuals, $112,500 for heads of household or $150,000 for married couples.

Payments were phased out for those with incomes above those levels, and cut off completely for individuals with $80,000 in adjusted gross income, heads of household with $120,000 and married couples with $160,000.

There may be people who are eligible for the full $1,400 payments, or additional partial payments, particularly if their circumstances have changed.

Parents who added a child to their family in 2021 may be eligible for a $1,400 payment. Additionally, families who added a dependent to their family in 2021, such as a parent, niece or nephew or grandchild, may also be eligible for $1,400 on their behalf.

Additionally, people whose incomes have fallen may now be eligible for the money if their 2021 adjusted gross incomes are below the thresholds for full payments. If their incomes are in the phase-out thresholds, they could be eligible for partial payments.

People who do not typically file tax returns, and have not yet done so, need to file this year in order to receive the any potential payments.

The Recovery Rebate Credit money for which you are eligible will either reduce the amount of federal taxes you owe or be included in your refund.

A reminder: The IRS will not automatically calculate any Recovery Rebate Credit amount for which you may be entitled when you file.

"Individuals must claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 income tax return in order to get this money," the IRS said in its fact sheet.

To see if you are eligible for a payment, you can find more information on the Recovery Rebate Credit on the agency's website.

If you have no income or up to $73,000 in income, you can file your federal tax return for free using the IRS' Free File program.

For people who already received their third stimulus checks, there is no need to include information on those payments in their 2021 returns, according to the IRS.

If you are still missing a first or second stimulus check that was sent by the government in 2020, you will have to file a 2020 tax return rather than claim that money on your 2021 return, according to the IRS.

Washington (CNN)There's still time to claim a third stimulus payment worth up to $1,400 per person.

Eligible taxpayers who didn't receive the payment or may be due more money than they initially received are allowed to claim a tax credit on their 2021 federal tax return by the April 18 deadline.

The vast majority of the third stimulus payments were automatically delivered to taxpayers' bank accounts or via a check in the mail last spring. The payments were authorized by the American Rescue Plan in March 2021 and were meant to help people struggling financially because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the payments were calculated last year based on the most recent federal tax return on file at the time. If a taxpayer's income or family size changed in 2021, the individual may be eligible for more money.

Other people may have missed out on the stimulus payment altogether. Those with incomes so low they don't have to file taxes may have never received their payment because the Internal Revenue Service did not have their information.

The third round of stimulus payments is worth up to $1,400 per person. A married couple with two children, for example, can receive a maximum of $5,600.

Families are allowed to receive up to $1,400 for each dependent of any age. Earlier rounds limited the payments to dependents under the age of 17.

Generally, low- and middle-income US citizens and US resident aliens are eligible for either a full or partial third-round stimulus payment.

Individuals earning less than $75,000 of adjusted gross income, heads of households (like single parents) earning less than $112,500 and married couples earning less than $150,000 are eligible to receive the full amount of $1,400 per person.

But the payments gradually phase out as household income increases. Individuals who earn at least $80,000 a year of adjusted gross income, heads of households who earn at least $120,000 and married couples who earn at least $160,000 are not eligible for any money -- regardless of how many dependents they have.

Undocumented immigrants who don't have Social Security numbers are not eligible for the payments. But their spouses and children are eligible as long as they have Social Security numbers.

Who may be eligible for more money?

Taxpayers who earned less money in 2021 than the previous year may be eligible for more money than they initially received from the third round of stimulus payments.

Those include single filers who had incomes above $80,000 in 2020 but less than this amount in 2021; married couples who filed a joint return and had incomes above $160,000 in 2020 but less than this amount in 2021; and head of household filers who had incomes above $120,000 in 2020 but less than this amount in 2021, according to the IRS.

Individuals and families who added a child in 2021 -- through birth, adoption or foster care -- could be eligible for additional money. Families that added another kind of dependent, such as an aging parent or grandchild, may also be eligible.

Here's how to claim the payment on your tax return

Those who believe they are due more money must file a 2021 tax return, even if they don't usually file taxes, and claim what's called the Recovery Rebate Credit. If a taxpayer is eligible for more money, it will either reduce any tax the person owes for 2021 or be included in a tax refund.

In order to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit, a taxpayer will need information that was sent in a letter from the IRS in the past couple of months. Known as Letter 6475, it confirms whether a taxpayer was sent a third stimulus payment and the amount. Alternatively, that information can be obtained by accessing your IRS online account.

For most taxpayers, the federal tax return filing deadline is April 18, though it's a day later for residents of Maine and Massachusetts. Taxpayers having difficulty meeting the deadline can file for an automatic six-month extension by using Form 4868.