By Miles Bryan, WHYY
Most taxpayers are set to receive a one-time payment of $600 and several unemployment programs will be restarted now that President Donald Trump has signed the second coronavirus stimulus bill.
The $900 billion package provides a $300-a-week subsidy to all workers receiving unemployment, on top of their regular benefits. It also renews two programs created in March by the CARES Act: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which provides benefits for freelancers, the self-employed, and others who don’t qualify for traditional unemployment; and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), which extends benefits to workers after state aid has run out. Over the weekend, more than half a million Pennsylvanians temporarily lost their unemployment benefits as those programs expired.
That wasn’t supposed to happen: Lawmakers in DC passed the stimulus bill with bipartisan support on Dec. 21. But Trump held up the bill over his demand that the one-time payments be increased from $600 to $2000. Sunday night, the incumbent relented and added his signature to the legislation as is. The House passed a bill Monday to authorize larger payments as President Trump requested. The move is likely to die in the senate.
If you’re wondering when your check will arrive, what’s up with your unemployment, or what else taxpayers should expect from the new program, here’s what you need to know.
Who’s getting the checks?
If you received a $1,200 stimulus check last spring, you should get the $600 one this time around.
The payments will go to every taxpaying adult earning up to $75,000. Those earning between $75,000 and $99,000 will get smaller checks. Most people who earn more than that are not eligible for the money.
Individuals with dependent children will get an additional $600 per child.
When will I get the money?
The timing is a little hazy.
After this second stimulus passed Congress, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said people could start to see the money hitting their bank accounts via direct deposit within a few days.
After the CARES Act passed in March, however, it took about two weeks for people to start receiving funds via direct deposit.
And millions who don’t file taxes, mostly people with lower incomes, waited months for their checks to arrive.
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