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The US has so far issued 90 million stimulus checks totaling $ 242 billion as part of President Joe Biden’s landmark US $ 1.9 trillion rescue plan. This emerges from a report released by several government agencies on Wednesday.
Most of the first payments were made by direct deposit, and some recipients got their checks this past weekend, Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service said.
The Treasury Department said it sent around 150,000 physical checks valued at around $ 442 million as part of the first wave of withdrawals.
The department introduces the stimulus checks – officially known as Economic Impact Payments – in successive “tranches”. The first such tranche was described in detail in the announcement on Wednesday.
The checks were processed on March 12th and some Americans considered the deposits pending before today’s official payment date.
The government added that this first set of payments was being sent primarily to eligible taxpayers who provided information about direct payments on their 2019 or 2020 tax returns. Additional batches and payments will be shipped via direct deposit and mail by check or debit card in the coming weeks, the finance department and IRS said.
Full payments of $ 1,400 will go to individuals with gross adjusted income of up to $ 75,000, head of households with incomes of up to $ 112,500, and married couples who jointly submit annual income of up to $ 150,000.
As with previous stimulus checks, the value of the checks is reduced for individuals with an income above these thresholds. In an effort to palpate Covid’s $ 1.9 trillion bailout package to Conservative Democrats, including Senator Joe Manchin, the Senate cut income levels, which gradually zero payments.
Unlike the previous economic impact payments, families receive one payment for all of their dependents claimed on a tax return, not just for their eligible children under the age of 17. Americans can check the status of their third payment using the Get My Payment tool.
Biden’s landmark bill also extends the $ 300 weekly unemployment insurance increase through September 6 and increases child tax credit by one year. In addition, nearly $ 20 billion will be allocated for Covid-19 vaccination, $ 25 billion for rental and utility services, and $ 350 billion for state, local, and tribal aid.
