Stimulus checks that could be released next month may amount to $2,800 for couples and $5,600 for families with two children. The third round of stimulus checks providing $1,400 per person earning up to $75,000 per year was introduced by President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief program. The volume is phasing out at the $100,000 income mark.
How much could the stimulus checks provide couples and families?
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 09: US President Joe Biden speaks as Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen meet with business leaders about the critical need for the American Rescue Plan in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. Attending the meeting are Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Tom Donohue, CEO at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart, Sonia Syngal, President and CEO of Gap, Inc. and Marvin Ellison, President and CEO of Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
Married couples earning up to $150,000 annually would get twice the number, $2,800, and at an adjusted gross income of $200,000, the amount would be phased out. If they have kids, couples with two children could double the number, as per The Sun.
For parents with children under 17 years of age, the actual "top-up" direct payment is $1,400, meaning that households with two children will receive $5,600 in stimulus funding. This time around, adult dependents, who were excluded from the second round of stimulus checks, would earn up to $1,400.
After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that talks might be finished this month, the third stimulus check is closer to becoming a reality. "By the end of February, we hope to have all of this done," Pelosi said on Thursday.
"Certainly in time to offset the March 14 deadline where some unemployment benefits would expire on the president's desk."
A tax-related portion of Biden's proposal on a 24-18 party-line vote was also approved on Thursday by the House Ways and Means Committee.
The stimulus checks would be delivered to Americans by March 12 if Congress approved them by February 26.
Biden vowed on Wednesday to "act quickly" on a stimulus package for the nation. "I met with business leaders from all over the country this afternoon to discuss the condition of our economy and the American Rescue Plan," Biden tweeted.
Read also: Sanders: It Is Bad Politics That Those Who Got Their Stimulus Check From Trump Will Not Get Them From Biden
The stimulus bill would boost the incomes of the poorest Americans
According to CBS News, a recent study found that Biden's stimulus package would provide considerable financial assistance to the most impoverished U.S. families suffering higher rates of income and employment losses amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The next stimulus bill will give $1,400 to qualifying families and increase the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) under the proposal in the House Ways and Means Committee. According to the Institute on Taxes and Economic Policy, the three programs will offer a 33 percent increase to the lowest 20 percent of Americans' pre-tax incomes or a $3,590 hike per household.
The three programs, a new round of stimulus checks, and the two enhanced tax credits will provide 95 percent of U.S. households with an equivalent dollar amount of average benefits, the ITEP study showed. But the effect would be even stronger for the lower-income families because the benefits would reflect a higher share of their income. That is crucial because the lowest-earning families are more likely to spend money quickly, giving a lift to the economy and stabilizing their finances, ITEP director of federal tax policy Steve Wamhoff told CBS MoneyWatch.
Read also: Americans Argue They Might Not Qualify for $1,400 Stimulus Checks; 'Targeted Attack' on Middle Class
Stimulus checks would help 22.6 million Americans, study claims
According to a report by data and consulting firm Morning Consult, Biden's proposal of $1,400 stimulus checks would allow 22.6 million Americans to cover their bills for at least four and a half months.
The study comes as negotiations begin about the scale and amount of stimulus measures included in the next round of the COVID-19 relief package, The Hill reported.
Morning Consult evaluated statistics on family finances to determine the stimulus' impact, finding that a new stimulus targeted at low-income people will help prevent exacerbated financial distress rather than simply pulling people out of trouble.
Roughly 30.2 million Americans were unable to pay their bills in January, according to the report. Out of those, 75 percent skipped their bills by less than $300, a 7 percent increase from the previous month.
Morning Consult said that this indicates that while prior stimulus checks did not fix the recipients' financial difficulties, they reduced their total debt.
