The Internal Revenue Service said it has sent out more than 156 million payments of the third stimulus check from the American Rescue Plan COVID relief bill signed last month. Some last-minute tax filers may be getting more than one payment from that bill, called a plus-up.
Americans who made up to $75,000 in 2020 will get the maximum $1,400 check. Couples who file taxes jointly and made up to $150,000 will get $2,800. The amount decreases to zero for individuals who made $80,000 and couples who made $160,000, respectively. There's a $1,400 kicker for each dependent in the household.
For millions of Americans, the IRS was going off their 2019 tax return to determine how much they were due. For some, it meant they made too much money that year to qualify for the third check. But they may have lost income in 2020 due to the pandemic or added a dependent and, therefore, now qualify. If those people had not yet filed their 2020 tax returns when the bill was passed, then the IRS said they will get the money they are owed after last year's return is processed.
The first plus-up payments arrived March 31 via direct deposit, or were on their way via the mail, the IRS said. The second group was set to arrive April 7. The IRS said that batch included more than 1 million plus-up payments worth a total of more than $2 billion. More plus-up payments are expected until the IRS gets stimulus payments out to all Americans who qualify.
2020 taxes were due this Thursday, but because the COVID relief bill changed tax laws significantly, the IRS extended the filing deadline to May 17.