Newsweek Yourk Citywide

On March 27, 2020, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, designed to stabilize and stimulate the American economy as it reeled from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, help every family better preserve its finances and health. Among the provisions of the CARES ACT is authorization for 80 million Americans to receive from the government a direct stimulus payment starting the week of April 13. The Economic Impact Payments (EIP) amounted to $1,200 for individual adults, $2,400 for married couples who file taxes jointly, and an additional $500 for each dependent child under the age of 17. Who qualifies for an EIP? U.S. citizens and resident aliens who filed their taxes in 2018 or 2019, have a work-eligible Social Security number, cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return, and have a gross adjusted income of $75,000 ($112,500 for heads of households and $150,000 for married couples who file taxes jointly) should receive their EIP automatically. For every $100 over that amount, the EIP is reduced by $5. Anyone making over $99,000 ($136,500 for heads of households and $198,000 for joint filers) is ineligible for the EIP. (If in 2020 your income falls below the eligible threshold, you will be able to claim it as a credit on your 2020 tax return.) Others who automatically qualify for the EIP are people who received Social Security Retirement payments in 2019, disability (SSDI) or survivor payments in 2019, Railroad Retiree benefits in 2019, or other forms of veterans’ retirement, disability, or survivor benefits.