5 Facts on Second $1,200 Stimulus Check Update

There seem to be a lot of questions surrounding the second $1,200 stimulus check. What do we know that are absolute facts about the second economic stimulus checks? I’m going to give you the five facts that you need to know today.

1. Congress Passed a Bill for Another Stimulus Check

The HEROES Act was passed. It passed in the House of Representatives. This was the first stage and it still has to go to the Senate. The Senate has not yet agreed to pass another stimulus check.

2. The Bill Is Dead on Arrival

Now I think really the big question is, “Okay, so it passed the House. What’s the next phase?” We know it has to go to the Senate, when is that exactly going to happen? Right now, what we know is that it is, as they say, “Dead on arrival.” We already know, for the most part, that it’s going to get denied by the Senate, it’s going to get vetoed by the President.

Okay, great. But when is it actually going to go to a vote? It’s going to be after Memorial Day. That’s basically when we can expect any progress on the next vote, the next stage of this is on Memorial Day.

3. $1,200 Check for Individuals, $2,400 for Married Couples

What else do we know? Well, we also know how much is going to be included in this. And for some reason, people are still hopeful, crossing their fingers, that this was going to be a much larger stimulus, just because there are all these different acts that were brought to the public by different politicians.

We heard a $2,000 upfront payment, we heard recurring payments, we heard everything across the board. Even Mark Cuban has come up with his own proposal of offering $1,000 every two weeks up to a certain period. Everybody’s got their proposals. Everybody has their opinion on different solutions that could help out people.

What we do know is that with the current HEROES Act, it’s another second $1,200 check for individuals. If you are married, if you have a spouse, that’s $2,400. The big difference between this one was getting $1,200 for each of your children up to three children. That was a big difference here. 

So basically, if you have a family of five and as long as you didn’t exceed the income requirements, you could get up to $6,000.

4. Income Requirements for the Second Stimulus Check

There isn’t much difference between the first CARES Act with the HEROES Act. Basically, if you made over $75,000 for an individual, you started to get phased out of that $1,200 check. If you were making over $150,000 as married with a spouse, married filing joint, then you started getting phased out above $150,000. That’s what we know there.

5. What About the $2,000 Monthly Stimulus Check? Is That Happening?

What about the $2,000 monthly stimulus check, is that happening? I think there was a lot of hope, a lot of hope that something like this would happen. I mean, it would have been a sweet deal to get reoccurring payments. I mean, that definitely is passive income at its finest.

But as it stands right now, as we can see, we can’t even get a second one-time $1,200 check being passed by the House, the Senate, and also the president.

The way the data shows, the first stimulus check, and how it didn’t have as much impact on the economy as many people hoped. Now there are some arguments for that. I think there are a lot of economists who are saying that it did help and it did make a difference.

And I’m sure in certain industries it did, but there are other industries such as the auto industry, the airlines, the travel industry, and a lot of the big box stores selling long-term durables, such as furniture and appliances, they didn’t get the full benefit because people were quarantined, couldn’t go out and actually spend money.

So to see if a reoccurring $2,000 monthly payment, I mean, that just seems like a pipe dream city right there. Those are really the facts that we do know. So right now, any information that you see about the HEROES Act is going to the second stage, the next stage of being voted on in the Senate, don’t expect anything to happen until after Memorial Day. Those are the facts that we know right now.

Two Additional Updates

Here are two additional updates if you are still waiting for your first stimulus check. 

Are You Still Waiting for Your First Stimulus Check?

Are you still waiting for your first stimulus check? What they are doing right now, which I find interesting, is instead of sending a physical check, they’re sending out these prepaid debit cards and they’re sending out roughly four million of them.

I’m just trying to understand how this is supposed to expedite people getting their checks by sending out these prepaid debit cards. I believe these prepaid debit cards are already in the mail. 

IRS Added 3,500 Representatives

The other thing I find interesting is that one of the biggest complaints with just the whole stimulus check, the whole package, is trying to actually get your question answered. 

Now finally, a month after most people have received their check, the IRS added over 3,500 representatives. That’s 3,500 phone representatives to answer your common questions about economic impact payments.

You can call 1-800-829-1954 right there and supposedly get some questions answered. Some people have tried calling, but did not get anybody human, they just got an automated system. Surprise, surprise.

But nonetheless, it’s nice that the IRS is making real people available to answer your question. I just don’t have a lot of hope in their ability to answer your more specific questions, as the new 3,500 people are likely still learning and reading off scripts at this point.

Also, everybody has their different circumstances here, whether your income situation, whether you filed a return if you haven’t filed a return if you’ve got your spouse and your kids. Everybody’s tax situation is so unique and if you’re not versed on all that stuff, try to answer somebody’s question? I mean, that’s just, yeah, I just don’t see that going very far. But I’m curious, have you tried calling this toll-free number?

Bottom Line: 5 Updates on the Second $1,200 Stimulus Check

So those are the five facts that we know, plus two other updates. As I mentioned, don’t expect anything new until after Memorial Day.