New Stimulus Checks Could Hit Bank Accounts in March 2021
Many Americans could find themselves just slightly richer in March 2021, more than a full year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The American Rescue Plan pushed by the Biden administration was passed in the U.S. House on Saturday, February 27th, mostly along party lines. It's a $1.9 trillion dollar bill, and the 3rd stimulus package designed specifically to boost a U.S. economy still struggling with unemployment and a cash-strapped small businesses sector.
The first COVID-19 stimulus package, the CARES Act, was passed in March 2020 for $2 trillion dollars and provided individual stimulus payments of $1,200 to Americans with qualifying incomes, plus $500 for qualifying children. The second stimulus package was passed in December 2020 for $900 billion and gave qualifying American adults, plus children, another round of $600 payments.
Before the 2nd stimulus package was signed by President Trump, many Democrats, Biden included, called for the $600 payments to be increased to $2,000. This 3rd stimulus package aims to upstage the Trump administration's last stimulus package, as the American Rescue Plan has a price tag of $1.9 trillion.
This time around, Americans making less than $75,000 a year should qualify to receive a payment of $1,400. Reports also suggest that child dependents 17 years old or younger would also be eligible to receive a $1,400 payment. That should also include a number of college students dependents, a group that was left out of the first stimulus package.
If the bill is passed by the U.S. Senate in its current form, a family of four could potentially see a payment of up to $5,600. There is a household income limit of $150,000 for married couples, after which the checks would be gradually decreased and phased out entirely for couples that make more than $200,000.
Many expect the Senate to pass a version of the American Rescue Plan by mid-March, which means Americans could expect their stimulus checks to arrive in their bank accounts or by mail the last week of March or in the first couple weeks of April 2021.