Second stimulus check: Who could qualify for more IRS money? Here’s what we know right now

Another coronavirus relief package that could include a second stimulus check is expected by the end of July from Congress. We have an idea when an additional IRS payment might arrive, but we don’t know who will qualify for a second stimulus check. Even if you were eligible for a $1,200 check the first time around, that may not hold true for a second batch.

“I think the people who have been hit the hardest are people who make about $40,000 a year or less,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, when asked July 6 about a second stimulus check. “Many of them work in the hospitality industry. So that could well be a part of it.”

Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker and a California Democrat, disagreed. “I don’t know where the $40,000 came from,” she said during a July 9 press conference. “I think families making over $40,000 probably need assistance, depending on their situation.”

In San Francisco, for example, the US office of Housing and Urban Development defined “very low income limits” at $60,900 for a single earner and $87,000 for a family of four, based on 50% of the metro area’s median income in 2020. That would be well above any $40,000 cutoff.

Here’s everything we’ve heard so far about who may or may not be eligible for an extra economic stimulus payment. The situation and this story update often.

Who gets another stimulus payment? The big picture

We won’t know until another rescue bill is made official, but we can piece together some possibilities. For example, the Heroes Act (PDF) passed by the House of Representatives in May proposes broad financial benefits to individuals, families and categories that were skipped by the first stimulus check (scroll down for the list of exclusions), including most college students and people who aren’t US citizens.

But the Heroes Act has been strenuously opposed by the Senate and President Donald Trump, who called it DOA. On the other end of the spectrum, McConnell has said that if the Senate, which his Republican party controls, passes another relief bill that includes more stimulus checks, the focus will be narrow.

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In making these decisions, the Senate and House will factor in economic data that is at best contradictory. The US economy added 4.8 million jobs in June (PDF), the Labor Department reported last week, as a result of every state reopening in some way. However, on July 9, the Labor Department reported (PDF) that for the 16th straight week, the number of US workers newly applying for unemployment insurance was above 1 million, with 1.3 million workers filing new state unemployment claims for the week ending July 4 — a sign that the US labor market is still shedding jobs. 

And with coronavirus rates now spiking across the US, governors are shutting businesses they had allowed to open just weeks before, threatening to set back new job gains.

Who could potentially qualify for a broad second stimulus payment?

• Individuals who made less than $99,000 according to the adjusted gross income from their 2018 or 2019 taxes (whichever was most recently filed).
• College students, dependents over 17, disabled relatives and a taxpayer’s parent.
• Families of up to five people.
• SSDI recipients
• People who aren’t US citizens and file tax returns, pay taxes and otherwise comply with federal tax law using an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) instead of a Social Security number.

Who might not qualify for a second payment?

Based on speculation, there are some different ways exclusion from a potential second stimulus check could play out.

Nobody qualifies: A stimulus package could be signed into law that gives tax credits and other incentives to businesses. It’s possible some people could get a travel or dining credit, but not a check.

People who make “too much” money: If another round of stimulus payments does pass, but allocations are smaller for IRS payments, it’s possible there could be a lower maximum yearly income (AGI on the tax form) to qualify. In other words, people who make more than a certain amount (that’s lower than the current cutoff of $99,000 for individuals) could potentially be left out of a second round. McConnell hinted the cap could be as low as $40,000; Pelosi asks if a $40,000 cap is too low.

Carryover exclusions from the current CARES Act: Young people between 18 and 24, people who aren’t US citizens but pay taxes, people who are incarcerated.

Who isn’t eligible for the first stimulus check

Let’s review who’s been excluded in the first round.

• A single taxpayer with an adjusted gross income above $99,000
• A head of a household with an AGI over $136,500
• A married couple with an AGI over $198,000
• Children over 16 and college students under age 24
• A nonresident alien as defined by the US government

When will we know more about stimulus check qualifications?

We won’t know anything for sure until a stimulus bill comes into clearer focus. You can read more about the suspected timeline here, but in general, here’s what we know.

McConnell has said repeatedly — most recently on July 6 — that if the Senate starts work on a second package, it will be later this month. To fit into McConnell’s timeline, legislators will have to work around several extended breaks when the Senate is not in session: a scheduled two-week recess running now until July 17 and its August recess, running from Aug. 10 to Sept. 7.

For more, here’s what we know about the major proposals for a second stimulus package. We also have information on unemployment insurance, what you can do if you’ve lost your job and what to know about evictions.