Some may be getting the money this year, while others may be getting it until 2021. So far, lawmakers have not reached an agreement and have not approved a relief package that includes the distribution of a stimulus check. However, there is still hope that one can be approved in November.
If that happens, here are the likely dates that the stimulus checks will be distributed. Just keep in mind that these dates are speculative, and are based on how long it took for the first stimulus check to be distributed after it was approved.
If the House of Representatives passes a relief package that includes a stimulus check on November 30, the Senate will vote on it and probably pass it on December 1. After that, the president would be signing off on the relief package on December 2.
Once this process is complete, the IRS would be handing out the first stimulus checks in the form of direct deposits the week of Dec. 21.
The first paper-based stimulus checks would be mailed on January 4, 2021, and the prepaid EIP cards would be mailed the week of February 1.
You don’t have to live in the U.S. or be a U.S. citizen to get a stimulus check
The second stimulus check, if approved, could follow these guidelines that were established with the first one.
You don’t necessarily have to live in the U.S., or be a U.S. citizen, to qualify for a stimulus check. The CARES Act provided that some “permanent noncitizens,” “resident aliens,” and some people living in U.S. territories (such as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or American Samoa) were eligible for a stimulus check payment if they met a number of requirements.
Under the CARES Act, all U.S. citizens and non-citizens with a Social Security number who live and work in the United States were eligible to receive stimulus check payments.
This includes individuals known as “resident aliens,” green card holders, and workers using visas such as H-1B and H-2A.
Also, U.S. citizens living outside the country were eligible to receive the first stimulus check payment. You only had to fill out IRS tax form 1040 or 1040-SR, and the government should have paid your stimulus check directly to your bank.
It’s important to note that, if a second stimulus check is approved, you may follow these same requirements to choose who you will give a stimulus check to.
A loophole allows some people to receive an extra $500 in their stimulus check
This money is given in a completely legal way, since it is not a failure. Most of the time, but not always, the parent who does not have custody of the children gives an amount of money for child support to the parent who does. This parent – who does have custody – will probably claim the children as his or her dependents on his or her tax payments.
It should be noted that child support may be owed even if the parents share custody. For example, when one parent earns more than the other. In many of these cases, the parents alternate and claim the child on their taxes one year and one year the other.
In situations like these, the extra $500 stimulus payments, which are given for each dependent child, may be sent to the parent to whom they owe child support, while the other parent receives nothing.
However, if this happens, the parent who did not receive the money can claim it on their 2020 tax return and receive it as a refund in 2021. This allows both parents to receive an extra $500 in their stimulus check for the same child, for a total of $1,000 for each dependent.
This is because, technically, both parents qualify for that extra money.