Individuals do not have to worry about paying taxes on any stimulus check.
Last year, more than 160 million people received a first stimulus check of up to $1,200, or up to double that for couples. A second stimulus check began to be distributed in January, this time worth up to $600 per person, including children under 17.
You should know that you don’t have to pay taxes on this money, because the payments were technically an advance on a 2020 tax credit.
Another support given to people during this crisis was unemployment benefits. However, unlike stimulus checks, you do have to pay taxes on this unemployment money.
Congress has increased weekly extra payments of $300 until mid-March, added to the unemployment benefits already given by each state, according to CNN.
This is less than what the unemployed received last year when they were given an extra $600 weekly payment for four months.
This time around, however, lawmakers expanded unemployment benefits to give money to more people, now including the self-employed, independent contractors and gig workers.
Like state unemployment benefits, federal payments are subject to income tax. Some people may have opted to withhold taxes from the benefit when they registered for unemployment with their state agency, but others may owe the full amount of tax when they file their 2020 return.