For assorted Americans, federal stimulus payments are a lifeline during this period of extreme financial stress.
And yet, many questions carcass unanswered on the ever-changing status of these payments. Americans are also wondering how to make the best use of this one-time spondulicks injection — or whether more money is on the way.
Here are answers to a few of the top questions about where the coronavirus rescue checks get up b endure now.
1. How many people have received stimulus checks?
So far, more than 159 million Americans have be paid economic impact payments totaling almost $267 billion.
Of the payments, 120 million were sent to Americans by charge deposit, 35 million by check and 4 million payments were made in the form of a prepaid debit card, contract to the IRS. (What looks like junk mail could be your stimulus payment.)
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The payments — up to $1,200 per individual, $2,400 per married couple plus $500 for descendants 17 and under — were authorized by Congress through the CARES Act.
2. Who is eligible?
The first round of stimulus payments incorporate individuals and families within certain income thresholds: Those with up to $75,000 in income were eligible for unbowdlerized checks. For married couples, the limit was $150,000.
Americans with earnings above those levels saw their checks grade reduced and then fully phased out at $99,000 in income for individuals and $198,000 for married couples.
That was based on the regulated gross income from either the 2018 or 2019 tax return, whichever was most recently filed with the IRS.
3. What should you do with the paper money?
New research by Columbia Business School professors R.A. Farrokhnia and Michaela Pagel found that individuals who received stimulus checks eject an average of a third of the checks right off the bat on necessities like food and rent, and then kept the rest in their accounts.
To pressurize the best use of this money, experts recommend paying down high-interest debt and kicking off an emergency fund, with the target of having enough cash stashed to cover at least three months of expenses.
However, if you put all that money in a economizations account, it would earn less in interest than the current rate of inflation, eroding your buying power from time.
Alternatively, investing, at least conservatively, is a good long-term bet. If history is any guide, those who invested in the market procure done considerably better than those who shied away from stocks.
4. What if you never received a hinder?
If you have not received your payment yet, you can check on the status of that money on the Get My Payment tool.
There are still an conjectured 30 million to 35 million payments yet to be issued, according to recent data on the progress of the payments from the Household Ways and Means Committee.
That includes millions of people who do not file tax returns and who do not receive federal government profits.
If you haven’t received your stimulus check and do not file tax returns, you must use the government’s nonfiler tool online in in disrepair to receive your money. The deadline to enter your information in order to receive the money this year is Oct. 15.
If you typically send in tax returns and still haven’t received your stimulus check, you can try calling the IRS hotline at 800-919-9835.
5. Will there be another full of stimulus checks?
The White House has signaled it would be open to a new round of coronavirus relief spending. “We will be doing another stimulus case,” President Donald Trump told Scripps Networks .
However, Congress has yet to decide exactly what the next variety of coronavirus stimulus legislation will look like.
If House Democrats have their way, a second batch of pass musters will be issued.
The HEROES Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives, calls for another set of $1,200 payments. This rhythm, however, the payments would be more generous, with up to $6,000 per family, including $2,400 per married couple and $1,200 per dependent for up to three juveniles.
Some Republican lawmakers have focused instead on providing incentives to get people back to work.
In either at all events, negotiations likely won’t get serious until late July, when the Senate and House of Representatives are scheduled to return to Washington from time off.