Washington residents could see a stimulus check quickly once Biden signs the economic relief act
Millions of Washington state residents are likely to see thousands of dollars in stimulus money by the end of March, if not sooner.
A qualifying family of four could get $5,600 in federal stimulus payments, thanks to the new economic relief plan the House is expected to pass Wednesday. An estimated 80% of Washington adults and 77% of children should see some stimulus payment.
Unemployed workers could see the extra $300 on their weekly payments continue through Labor Day.
And families with children could get an extra boost this summer with a monthly child credit payments of $250 to $300.
First, however, the House needs to approve the $1.9 trillion economic relief package that the Senate passed Saturday on a party line vote.
Since Democrats authored the bill, and they control the House, the legislation is expected to win approval. If it passes with no changes to the Senate bill, as anticipated, President Joe Biden said Monday he’ll sign the bill “as soon as I can get it.”
Here’s the anticipated timeline, according to experts from the Tax Foundation, Century Foundation and the Biden administration:
The $1,400 stimulus payments
A “large number” of people could get payments by the end of the month, according to White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki. It could be quicker than that.
The last round of stimulus payments in late December began to be distributed three days after the bill became law. Within two weeks, most people had the money in their accounts.
“Filers with direct deposit information could expect the payments within about two weeks of the Rescue Act becoming law, which is about the same timeline as the direct payments in December,” said Garrett Watson, senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation. “Paper checks and prepaid debit cards may take longer, through April at least.”
This time, Individuals with adjusted gross incomes of $75,000 or less, or joint filers earning less than $150,000, can get $1,400 per adult and dependent.
Between $75,000 and $80,000 for individuals, and between $150,000 and $160,000 for couples filing jointly, the payment is reduced. People earning more than $80,000/$160,000 will get no stimulus.
IRS has not issued guidance for the payments, but based on past policy, it is likely to consider 2019 or 2020 incomes.
To calculate how much you could get, try this estimate, developed by Jasmine Mah, web content developer at Omni Calculator, which provide such analyses, see: https://www.omnicalculator.com/finance/american-rescue-plan#stimulus-check:-how-much-will-i-get
An estimated 6.1 million people in Washington — 4.48 million adults and 1.65 million children — should receive some stimulus payments, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
$300 extra in jobless benefits
Since late December, qualified Washington unemployment beneficiaries have been eligible for an additional $300 per week, a boost authorized by the December federal stimulus law, a benefit that expires at the end of this week.
The Century Foundation, an economic research firm, estimates that tens of thousands of Washington residents could have their benefits affected without the legislation. The new law keeps the $300 going through Sept. 6.
There could be a lag, though, in seeing the extra $300. There were some delays in including the extra $300 after it was approved in December, partly due to a technical glitch.
This time should be easier, since the new law simply continues the current benefit, said Andrew Stettner, senior fellow at the Century Foundation.
Child credit payments by summer
Starting in July, qualified parents can likely get a monthly payment for the child tax credit. The legislation increases the credit, now $2,000 for children 6 to 16, to $3,600 for each child 5 and under and $3,000 for children 6 to 17.
To qualify for the entire amounts individual parents would have to earn less than $75,000 and couples would have to make less than $150,000. Since the credit would begin in July, parents could claim the other half of the year’s credit on next year’s tax return.
So, for instance, someone with two qualifying children ages 6 to 17 could get monthly payments of $500 ($250 for each child) starting in July. By the end of the year, they would have received $1,500. The other $1,500 would be available as a credit on the 2021 return.
The IRS is expected to detail how to apply on its website later this spring.
This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 2:16 PM.
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