4 Big Questions We Have About the Next Stimulus Check

By Robin Hartill, CFP®

One thing that appears likely in the next coronavirus relief bill: a second round of stimulus checks.

You read that right. More cash from the government is (probably) coming.

Republicans have yet to release their version of a new stimulus bill. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed this week that the GOP plan will include more stimulus checks, although he didn’t discuss specifics.

“Speaking of building on what worked in the CARES Act, we want another round of direct payments, direct payments to help American families keep driving our national comeback,” McConnell said.

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4 Big Questions We Have About the Next Stimulus Check

The truth is that no one knows what a second stimulus check will look like right now. But based on what we saw during the first round of stimulus checks and the debate in recent weeks about how to provide additional relief, these are the big issues we’ll be watching.

 Will the next round of stimulus checks have a lower income limit?

In the first round of payments, single adults with incomes of $75,000 or less and married couples earning up to $150,000 received the full stimulus check of $1,200 per person or $2,400 per couple. Those with higher incomes had their benefits phased out by 5 cents for every dollar they earned above those thresholds.

McConnell said earlier this month at an event in Kentucky that the next stimulus package would be targeted at people making less than $40,000 a year, who have been hit hardest by the pandemic.

Many interpreted that comment to mean that stimulus checks would only go to people with incomes under $40,000, though McConnell never explicitly said that.  One problem with limiting checks to people with lower incomes: The payments would most likely be based on 2019 tax returns, which wouldn’t reflect the millions of jobs lost to coronavirus.

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