Here’s who gets a payment under Biden’s $1,400 stimulus check proposal
The new $1.9 trillion ‘rescue plan’ introduced by President-elect Joe Biden includes an additional $1,400 in direct payment to Americans.
“We will finish the job of getting a total of $2,000 in cash relief to people who need it the most,” Biden said at an event in Delaware on Thursday evening. “The $600 already appropriated is simply not enough.”
The new payment would top off the previous $600 payment that started to be distributed in December. Around $465 billion of Biden’s $1.9 trillion ‘rescue plan’ is earmarked to go directly to Americans’ wallets.
The bonus per dependents would be $1,400 and would apply to all dependents. Previously, parents or guardians could only claim the bonus for dependents under 17. Now the bonus can be claimed for college students, disabled adults, and other adults who are dependents.
If Biden’s proposal is the same as the Democrats’ $2,000 stimulus plan passed by only the House in December, the income eligibility criteria would mirror the requirements for the current $600 stimulus payments being distributed.
The payments would reduce gradually for those with adjusted gross income (AGI) over $75,000 for single filers without dependents and $150,000 for married couples without dependents. The phaseout thresholds would change depending on the number of dependents in the household.
Read more: Here’s what to do if you haven’t gotten your stimulus check
Eligibility would likely be based on your most recent tax return and your adjusted gross income. For the second round of checks, the Internal Revenue Service used 2019 tax returns to determine who qualified for the direct payment.
The $2,000 stimulus checks would also mean a big increase in income for America’s poorest families. The 20% of households with the lowest incomes would see their annual income increase by 29% if Congress passed the Democrats’ $2,000 stimulus check proposal, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) found. The effect of Biden’s plan would be similar.
For comparison’s sake, the current $600 payment gives the same group just an 8% raise, while the $1,200 direct payments last spring under the CARES Act lifted their incomes by 11%.
Denitsa is a writer for Yahoo Finance and Cashay, a new personal finance website. Follow her on Twitter @denitsa_tsekova.
Trump will take nuclear football out of DC on his final day in office – and the codes will be deactivated at the stroke of noon
Donald Trump will get to take the nuclear football with him when he leaves Washington DC on his final day in office – but the codes will be deactivated at the stroke of noon.
Mr Trump will be accompanied by the 45-pound briefcase when he flies to Florida on the morning of Joe Biden’s inauguration, as he is reportedly expected to do.
But the nuclear codes that accompany it will stop working as soon as Mr Biden is sworn in as his successor 1,000 miles away on Wednesday.
Military officials will have a nuclear football ready and waiting to accompany Mr Biden after he becomes the commander-in-chief, officials told CNN.
Mr Trump has also reportedly not made up his mind if he will continue the tradition of writing a letter to leave for his successor in the Oval Office’s Resolute desk.
The outgoing president is expected to be at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida or nearby golf course when his term in office officially ends, reports CNN.
Mr Trump wants to hold a departure ceremony at Joint Base Andrews on the morning of Joe Biden’s inauguration before flying to Florida, say reports.
The ceremony may include a colour guard and even a 21-gun salute, officials told USA Today.
And there may also be a red carpet and a military band, according to The New York Times.
Mr Trump, who was impeached for an unprecedented second time on Wednesday, is expected to leave the White House for a final time early on inauguration day rather than attend the ceremony.
He will become the first president to snub his successor’s inauguration since the 1860s, but vice president Mike Pence has said he plans to attend.
Traditionally, the outgoing president has met with the incoming first family at the White House before the inauguration.
