Congress agreed on a new financial aid package in connection with the coronavirus: what will be the payments

After months of failed negotiations, lawmakers have finally agreed on a new $ 900 billion coronavirus aid package. CNBC... However, the document has not yet been adopted and remains in the status of a draft law. Voting on it is expected late on December 21st.

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The Pandemic Recovery Bill will include direct payments of up to $ 600 to eligible adults, plus $ 600 for each dependent.

Although the adult benefit will be half the size of the first incentive check, the amount earmarked for eligible dependents has been increased by $ 100.

Who is eligible for payments

Under the new financial aid package, a family of four could potentially receive $ 2400, although income criteria are slightly different from those in the March CARES law.

Those who earned up to $ 600 in 2019 will receive $ 75; couples who earned up to $ 000 will receive $ 150 in aid. Further, the payment amount will gradually decrease. Assistance thresholds: $ 000 for individual taxpayers and $ 1200 for couples. Those who have earned more than this will not receive help from the government.

When to expect payment

The first in line are likely to be individuals whose direct bank account information is already on the IRS.

More than 81 million payments totaling more than $ 147 billion were sent in two weeks after the CARES Act came into effect in March, according to the Government Audit Office, all made via wire transfers to recipients' bank accounts.

Treasury chief Stephen Mnuchin has already pledged an equally tough deadline, saying payments will begin to be processed as soon as the law is passed.

“We can send 50 million payments very quickly. Many of them will go to people’s direct accounts,” Mnuchin previously said.

This includes those who signed up to receive refunds by direct deposit when filing their 2018 and / or 2019 tax returns, and could also extend to 14 million people who previously registered their details using two new online tools created by the IRS to collect banking and contact information this spring.

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The Treasury did not respond to CNBC's request for comment on whether previously obtained banking information would be reused in the event of a second round of payments.

Those who are eligible for payment but have not provided their bank account details to the IRS can count on a paper check or prepaid debit card.

The Treasury has the ability to deliver five to seven million paper checks per week, in addition to checks under other federal programs. The IRS and the Treasury may prioritize sending second incentive checks to the lowest income people in the country, starting with those earning less than $ 20 a year.

What to do if you still haven't received your first $ 1200 check

There are people who are still awaiting full or partial payment of their first aid due to Covid. Tax experts say it's not too late to ask for this money.

“They can receive the stimulus payment they are eligible for in the form of the Recovery Rebate Credit when they file their 2020 taxes,” said Lisa Green-Lewis, certified public accountant and TurboTax expert.

Payments included up to $ 1200 per person or $ 2400 for a married couple, plus $ 500 for a child under 17. The tax credit will either reduce the amount of tax you have to pay or increase your refund.

“The easiest way for a taxpayer to receive the payment is to file for it with their 2020 tax return,” explained Mark Steber, chief tax preparer for Jackson Hewitt Tax Services.

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The IRS advises that those eligible for a refund can claim it on a 1040 Form 1040 or 2020-SR. These forms can also be used by people who are not normally required to file tax returns but are eligible to receive payments.

"TurboTax has guidance regarding stimulus payments and other financial transactions related to Covid-19," Greene-Lewis explained. “The system will ask in advance whether the taxpayer received a stimulus payment and then calculate the Recovery Rebate Credit based on actual 2020 income.”

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